Fellowship of the Nine
by emebalia
Summary: Sam spends a weekend with some Stanford friends. But he's not the man they used to know anymore. Outsider POV. Season two.
1. Chapter 1

**Fellowship of the Nine**

We used to be the _Fellowship of the Nine_. Cole and Anne, Sam and Jess, Brenda, Eric, Andrea, Vincent and me, Luis. I think Sam came up with that name. Or Vincent, they were both heavy on that geek stuff. Even had read the books before those movies came out.

Thinking about it, we should have known that our _Fellowship_ was destined to break apart, you know, like the Fellowship in the movie. Bad omen or something. It couldn't last forever.

On Halloween I was out with Sam and Jess celebrating Sam's LSAT and his upcoming interview and everything was fine and dandy. And then it all broke apart.

First we lost Jess to the fire and a week later Sam just drove off with his brother.

Not the kind of guy you'd expect around Stanford that brother of his. You could sense Sam's brother meant trouble from miles away. Didn't talk that much to anyone of us, only glared at us every time we tried to comfort Sam. Or was in the same room as them. Because as soon as the brother arrived there was no longer a Sam, there were the Winchester brothers.

Sam never really explained where he went with his brother the weekend before the fire and every question on that topic was answered with a side glance at said brother and some half-ass lies.

We all could see why Sam had never talk about his family. He barely had admitted there was a brother somewhere but where he was and what he did, not so much.

My guess would be in prison, wouldn't surprise me. What surprised me was the fact that Sam took off with Dean, at least I think that was his name. Going on a road trip.

He stayed in touch for a while but Sam mainly wanted to get updated on us and never really offered information about himself. Where he was, what he did, not a word about that. I'd ask him a couple of times when he was planning on coming back to finish his education but he never answered that one either.

Anyway, we had lost Jess and Sam was God knows where and around Christmas we lost Anne. Broke up with Cole and left to spend the holidays with her family. But she never arrived there. Some say she just took off, some say she had been killed by a homicidal hitchhiker. I don't know. All I know is that that was the shittiest Christmas ever and our _Fellowship of the Nine_ was down to six people.

Vincent joked we'd picked the wrong movie and should better be prepared for something more along the lines of _Final Destination_.

We made it through the year without another loss, except you want to count Sam who stopped answering any of our calls or emails. And I have to admit I didn't think of him for months. He was back on my mind around November, though. Just like Jess and a little later Anne, but all in all we made it through the year in one piece. Still six people, still good friends, maybe closer than before.

With the new year just a few days old we looked forward. Not forgetting about the three people we'd lost but ready to move on. When Cole suggested an extended weekend at his parent's cabin at the lake we thought it was a good idea. A few days just hanging out and having fun. Maybe some ice-skating and the occasional snowball fight but definitely some beer and hard liquor.

I can't tell why I emailed Sam and asked him to join us. I didn't expect him to answer at all and for sure I didn't expect him to actually come.

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

"We'll end up in the lake the way you're driving." Brenda yelled at Vincent and from the backseat I had to agree. Okay, maybe we would rather end up on the lake than in it because it was frozen over thick enough to drive a tank over it. But I could clearly picture the car ending up in a snowdrift.

"I've everything under control." Vincent announced but slowed down a bit. The road was barely visible and it was still snowing.

"We'll get snowed in." I said and wasn't sure if I liked that idea. As far as I knew this was the only road to the cabin and the cabin was the only building around for miles. Charming.

"Cole said the plow'll come out if that happens." Brenda turned in her seat and grinned at me. "Don't worry, if we get stuck out here over the winter I'll make sure we'll eat Cole first."

"Or maybe we should eat Sam first." Vincent considered. "He's the biggest one of us after all."

"If he's actually coming." I said. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"But he said he'd come, right?" Brenda asked with that sparkle in her eye. She'd always had a little crush on Sam. Never acted on it as far as I knew which would have been a lost cause anyway. If you'd ever seen Sam and Jess together you'd know there was no room for any other woman in Sam's life. Or so it used to be. With Jess dead for over a year, who knew?

"He said he'd come." I answered. Sam had asked for directions and if he should bring something, beer or whatever, and I'd told him just being there would be enough. He'd answered with a smiley and a "see you soon".

Finally the outline of the cabin came in sight. Snowflakes swirled in the air and it was nearly impossible to see farther than the front of the car but we made it to the cabin without getting stuck in the snow.

"Cabin my ass." Vincent whistled when he cut the engine off.

"It had been way smaller before the great makeover last year." I told him. Once or twice I had been out here before said makeover. Back then it had been just a cabin like every other, okay maybe already a little bigger and more comfortable than the ordinary cabin but still a cabin. Now it had a second story, a porch bigger than some houses and as far as I could tell from my position an annex with huge windows facing the lake. At least there would be enough room for seven people so we wouldn't get literally cabin fever within the first three hours.

Cole's and Eric's cars were parked in front so most likely the others had already arrived. No sign of Sam so far.

"Okay, let's get our stuff inside." Vincent popped the lid of the trunk and we gathered our things.

"You really need all that stuff?" I just had to ask when Brenda got her two bags out, zippers close to bursting open.

"It's a long weekend." She shrugged. From today, Thursday, to Monday to be exact, so yeah we'd need some stuff.

With a grunt I got my bag out and okay, it was as close to bursting as hers and I had considered to use two bags, but I wouldn't tell her that. Call it stupid manly pride but girls just had to have more stuff than guys. Otherwise the universe would implode.

"Let's get inside before I freeze my balls off." Vincent stomped his feet and we hurried to get inside.

As expected Cole was the first who greeted us and along tagged Andrea and Eric. No Sam.

"Dump your things in the corner." Cole waved in the general direction. "We sort out the rooms later. Here, have a beer." We left our bags and snow-crusted boots in the corner and seconds later we all had a beer in hand and sat around the fireplace. After the long drive in the snow it was nice to get warm again. I wiggled my sock-clad toes seeking the warmth from the fire.

We hadn't seen each other since the middle of December so we had some catch-up to do. Not that there were any surprises. We had spent time with our families like every year and the stories were the same as always. Andrea's brothers had totaled her car, that was the most exiting news.

But that was just to make time pass. We waited for Sam. Not sure if he'd actually show up. He had said so but you never know, right?

The conversation turned to Sam every other minute. Stories about him, stories about Sam and Jess. We avoided the fire but there was enough to remember from Sam's time at Stanford.

As his former roommate I was the one who knew a bit more about Sam's time before Stanford than the others. You can't live in close quarters with someone without getting to know him. Even if he doesn't say a word. However, the few bits and pieces I knew I'd shared quite a few times before and it wasn't that much I knew anyway.

Sam had a rough childhood, that was pretty clear. A childhood which had left its scars on Sam's body and soul. Combined with the fact that Sam never spoke of his father, I had some ideas of what it had been like.

"Think he'll come alone?" Andrea asked eyes on the fire. "Or you think somebody drops him off?"

_Somebody_ would either be Sam's brother or, worse, his father. I wasn't sure if I wanted to meet either of them.

"No clue." I took a sip from my beer. Shortly after Jess' death when Sam still had answered my emails he had only mentioned his brother from time to time. Not a word about his father so I hoped Sam had been smart enough to stay away from that bastard. Not that I had any trust in that brother of his either.

I happened to be the one closest to a front window so I was the one who first spotted the black car approaching the cabin. I'd seen that car before. It had taken Sam away from us. Maybe it was a little bitter to think of it that way, but that was how it felt to me.

"Sam's coming." I said when the car came to a halt.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N I'm overwhelmed by the feedback I'm getting for this story. Thank you, all of you. You are great.

Two questions came up quite a few times:

timeline: This story is settled mid-season two

updates: every Saturday (Wednesday for my SPN/Dexter crossover "Salt and Blood" and on occasion there are shorter stories in between)

* * *

The others crowded behind me to get a better look while I watched the doors of the car open like one. The passenger side was closest to the window and I've to admit I had forgotten just how tall Sam was. Or maybe he had grown since I had seen him last.

On the other side another man got out of the car and with one hand resting on the roof he looked me straight in the eye. Sam's brother. Dean.

I'd only seen him once or twice during that week after Jess' death and at the funeral of course but I recognized him immediately. Same old leather jacket, same ripped jeans, same bad guy image. This guy was hard to forget.

For a second I wanted to shy away from the window, getting out of sight, but then I steeled myself and hold his gaze. Dean said something to Sam who then turned around and a wide grin spread over his face. He waved and I waved back and then we all hurried to the door.

"Sam!" Brenda was the first outside and had Sam in a bear hug a second later. Her head reached only up to his chest but she seemed happy to rest it there for a moment.

Sam just stood there, arms spread in an uncertain way and he looked at his brother before he lowered his arms to return the hug.

"Brenda." He said. "Good to see you."

Then we were there too. We hugged and shook hands and Sam was grinning like an idiot. We were all grinning except for Dean who stood there in grim silence, the car between him and us like a wall and just watched the scene like he expected us to rip Sam apart.

After a quick glance in his direction I ignored him for the next minutes because there was Sam. The Sam we knew, the Sam we loved, the Sam who was part of our little Fellowship of the Nine which wasn't exactly nine anymore but after a year without Sam was finally up to seven again. It felt good.

"It's warmer inside." Andrea pointed out but it was Dean who took the hint and opened the trunk and got a battered duffel bag out. An old army thing which looked exactly like the one Sam had shown up with at Stanford. Moved in with that bag and a rucksack and nothing else. First I'd expected his family to show up and bring the rest of his stuff but his family never came, not even for a visit. Not until Dean took Sam on that trip right before the fire.

His life fits in the trunk of a car, Sam had joked once and I'd wondered if he came from a religious family, you know, only possess what you really need because more would lead to greed, envy and pride and probably the to the rest of the deadly sins. But Sam never came across as the religious type.

Later I figured out that he came to Stanford on a full ride and that he had to work beside his studies to get by because his family never sent a cent to help him out. When I saw Dean for the first time I knew why.

Dean slammed the lid of the trunk shut and carried the bag inside. I was the only one who even noticed him doing that, the others were fully focused on Sam, so I followed Dean into the cabin.

To show him where to put the bag, would have been my answer if anybody would have bothered to ask. But to be honest, I didn't want him around our stuff unobserved.

"You can drop it over there." I said and tried to sound helpful. He nodded and stepped around the puddle our boots had left on the floor.

"Nice place." He took a look around. "When Sammy said something about a weekend at the cabin I didn't picture a palace like this."

I nearly choked at the _Sammy_. Nobody called Sam that. At least not a second time and if they were smart not even a first time.

As if I wasn't even there Dean strolled around like he owned the place. This wasn't my cabin so it should be Cole's problem that this guy was eying everything, maybe looking for the silverware, but it raised my hackles.

I opened my mouth to call him on it when the door burst open and along with the snowy wind the others came in. Laughter and chatter filled the air and right in the middle of it I caught sight of Sam's face. His cheeks were flushed from the cold and he had this expression on like he wasn't sure if he was dreaming.

What to make out of Dean's expression when he saw his brother like that I didn't know. Unreadable.

"Hey, Sammy." Dean shouted and just like me before the others fell in shocked silence at that name. But Sam didn't seem to mind.

"You got everything you need?" Dean continued as if nothing had happened. He stood close to Sam and had lowered his voice but we all stood close enough to hear every word.

"Yes, Dean." Sam gave his brother a dramatic eye-roll.

"You got the …" Being aware of us listening he didn't finish that sentence but Sam nodded in understanding.

"I'll be fine." Sam reassured him.

"Okay. I should better get going." He looked around and felt clearly uncomfortable with us standing so close to him. "Gotta get into town before the frigging road is totally blocked. Frigging snow. We should have went to Florida." He muttered on his way out. Sam followed him and we stayed back to give them some privacy.

To be honest, I didn't like Dean but he was part of Sam's family, part of Sam. And he had given his brother a ride in this shitty weather.

"We have time to get to Florida." I heard Sam answer but the wind caught his words and I didn't quite get the rest. Something about the full moon?

They stood by the car for a minute or so and I half expected them to hug but Dean only slapped Sam's shoulder and jerked his head to mention that he should get inside. Then Dean got in the car and seconds later the red lights disappeared in the swirling snow.

Sam stood there, hands in his pockets, and watched his brother leave. A dark figure all alone in the cold winter.

But then he turned and his long legs ate up the distance between him and us.

"Get your ass in here." Cole called and Sam's gin was back and he had his arm around my shoulder for a moment.

"It's good to see you all again." Sam said and I think he really meant it.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N I don't know how many people are asking me one question over and over again: _Is Dean coming back?_

The answer is _yes_, Dean will be there for about two-thirds of the story. However, we are now in the one-third without him. I know it's hard but I hope you'll survive with only Sam for now.

* * *

"Just like the good old days." I said and threw my bag on the bed right next to the door. A smile ghosted over Sam's lips and he made the two steps farther into the room to settle his luggage on the other bed. Our first year at Stanford we had been roommates and I hoped Sam kept that in fond memories as well.

There had been no question about me and Sam staying in one room. Of course Cole had the master bedroom for himself, the girls shared one room and Eric and Vincent the other. Most cabins I knew only had four rooms at most and this one had a master bedroom and three guest rooms on the upper floor. Not very big guest rooms but still.

"Hope we won't stumble over each other's feet in this little box of a room." I muttered when I squeezed past Sam to set my laptop on the little desk in the corner.

"Lived in closer quarters." Sam answered and didn't seemed to be bothered at all to be cramped up with me in here. We'd be up here only to sleep anyway. And I probably would play with Brenda a bit. She had found this stupid little game on the internet where your face was projected on a character and you have to beat the other one up. Stupid little game but it was fun and since Brenda had shown it to me I was addicted. Hadn't seen her face for real for over a week before we went to the cabin but via camera I saw her every minute I could spare. And no, I don't want to become all psychological about the fact that I had fun punching something wearing her face. She had fun as well punching me. We were only beating up polygons, so shut up.

I was tempted to turn the laptop on so we could play a round or two before dinner but for the moment Sam was more interesting.

"What are you doing these days?" I asked because I'd never been the subtle guy. Sam had his back turned towards me and was fiddling with something in his bag.

"Don't tell me you're still on that road trip with your brother." I continued when he didn't answer.

"I kinda am." He finally said and I could hear his sad smile.

"I know Jess' death was hard for you. It was hard for all of us. And the way we lost Anne ..." I spread my hands in a helpless gesture. "But life goes on, man. You have to think about your future."

Now he turned around.

"After Jess." He stopped and cleared his throat. "I needed some time and then, last summer, my dad passed away." He shrugged.

"I'm sorry." I said but didn't mean it. Sam had never really talked about his dad but his scars, physical and emotional, and the way he refused to talk about his old man told me enough. As far as I was concerned that bastard could burn in hell.

"You can still come back to Stanford and finish your education." I offered but he only nodded with that sad smile still on his lips. I wanted to push it but I was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Dinner is ready." Andrea stuck her head in. "If you're brave enough to face Cole's cooking come downstairs before it gets cold."

Steak and baked potatoes, as long as you don't overcook the steaks there wasn't really anything you could do wrong with that dish, not even Cole, and we dug in with appetite.

Of course there was the question again of when Sam would be back at Stanford or if he planned to finish his education elsewhere.

"Not any time soon." Sam answered and avoided to elaborate that by stuffing half a potato in his mouth.

"So what are you doing nowadays? Still on that _road trip_ with your brother?" Cole pointed his fork at Sam disapproval clearly written on his face."You can't throw away your future like that, Sam." He leaned forward looking Sam in the eye. "That was fine for a few month to get your bearings back after Jess but Sam, we're talking about you future here. I've talked to my dad, he can help you."

"Thanks." Sam managed a smile but it looked forced. "I appreciate that."

Cole looked like he wanted to continue but Andrea stepped in and changed the subject.

"That was your brother right? What was his name? Dean?" She asked but Sam clammed up on that topic too. However, Andrea wouldn't be Andrea if she couldn't do a turn mid-air. "Mine just totaled my car. I love him but he's a pain in my ass."

So we listened once again to that story, it was still funny the second time around, and after that we all loosened up a bit. I for my part was still curious about Sam, what he'd been up to the last year and when he would be back with us for real, but I let it be for the moment. The weekend was long and we had more than enough time to get to know each other again. And maybe this weekend would help Sam to come to his senses and come back with us. You can always hope, right?

The others seemed to think along the same lines and the rest of the evening went by with easy chatter and a lot of laughing. The latter had nothing to do with the rising alcohol level, mind you.

We turned in rather early. Some of us had spent long hours in the car that day and we were tired from traveling. Guess we weren't as young as we used to be when we had started college. And wasn't that a scary thought for somebody in his early twenties?

I didn't know where Sam had been yesterday and how long his journey had been to get here but he looked rather tired as well.

When he came back from the bathroom he wore sweats and a long-sleeved shirt which stretched over his chest.

"Damn, did he start do work out?" I heard Brenda gasping as soon as Sam came in view of the camera. Did I mention that I was addicted to that little game we played at that time? I didn't even matter that two out of three times I got my ass handed to me.

"Make sure to stay decent back there, Sam." I said over my shoulder and pointed at the camera. "The enemy is watching."

"What are you doing?" Sam stepped closer and examined the fighters with our faces projected to them.

"It's fun. Wanna try it?" I stood up and offered him my chair. "Maybe your only chance to ever beat somebody up." I had to grin at the thought of our gentle giant beating up somebody. "Gotta warn you, Brenda is not making prisoners."


	5. Chapter 5

Sam lost the first two matches. But then he got the hang of it and for the first time Brenda was getting a hard time.

"That's what I'm calling some reflexes." I slapped Sam's shoulder because, damn, he wiped the floor with her. Sam laughed but rubbed the spot I'd hit. Figures, muscles like Arni but soft like a baby.

When Andrea appeared behind Brenda practically begging us to call it a day and go to sleep, Brenda jumped at the opportunity to save at least the last bit of her bad-ass reputation.

Minutes later we turned the lights off.

"Night, Sam." I said into the darkness and tried to settle in. A different bed than I was used to with somebody else just an arm's length away, it was strange.

Sam on the other hand didn't seem to have trouble falling asleep at all. After a mumbled "night" he rustled for a moment and not a minute later his breathing evened out and he was asleep.

I listened to him breathing and the sounds from the cabin and the wind outside. I kinda missed my own place. Restless I turned to my side and watched the dark lump in the other bed.

Road trip, that's what Sam had called it. A road trip with his brother for over a year now. No wonder he could sleep in a new bed without problems. Did he even remember his own bed? The one he'd shared with Jess was long gone but there had to be his room at his parent's house somewhere. With his dad gone it probably belonged to Sam and his brother now. Maybe they'd sold it to get rid of bad memories, though. Would explain where the money for their extended road trip was coming from.

Musing about Sam's life outside our little Stanford bubble I finally drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up in the morning Sam was still sleeping. Laying on his stomach he hugged his pillow and one foot hung over the edge of the bed. Brenda would pay money for a picture like that, too bad she wouldn't get one. With a smile I slid out of bed and tiptoed out of the room.

I wasn't the first one up and I followed the smell of coffee downstairs to the kitchen.

"I'm just saying it's drafty in here." I heard Andrea before I even reached the bottom of the stairs.

"The insulation is on high-level standard." Cole replied coldly. "It is not drafty in here."

"Last night I could see my breath for a second." Brenda pointed out just when I entered the kitchen. The three of them stood around the coffee maker each with a steaming cup in hand.

"Coffee?" I asked hopefully and gave Brenda a quick glance to drop it. Cole was a nice guy but didn't criticize him or his things. Whatever he got, it was the best you could get for money and there was nothing to criticize about it. Period.

Sometimes teasing him was quite fun but not in the early morning. Brenda got the message, c'mon she knew Cole as well as I did, and poured me some coffee instead.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"Still sleeping." Andrea started to go through the cupboards in search for breakfast. "Same for Sam?"

"Like a baby."

"He really should let my dad help him." Cole sipped at his coffee. "He's a brilliant young man but he doesn't have the right connections. Being brilliant isn't enough, you need to know the right people." He snorted. "Wasting his time with that brother of his. Did you see him?"

As if we hadn't met said brother just yesterday.

"That's not the kind of person Sam should keep company with."

"They are brothers." Andrea reminded him and shoved him out of the way to get to the stove. "Who wants scrambled eggs for breakfast?"

"As long as you don't let Cole anywhere near them." I joked.

The smell of coffee and sizzling bacon draw the others out of bed as well and we all sat together for breakfast. Still in our sleeping wear and with bed-hair we ate with comfortable chatter and soft laughter.

After that we took turns in the bathrooms – yes, the cabin had two of them – before we came together in the main room again.

Over night it had snowed quite a bit but now the sun shone from a clear blue sky. Now way we'd stay inside. We got our boots and coats and wrapped ourselves up with scarfs, gloves and beanies. Sam's looked new and he'd probably bought it at a Walmart the other day. If the others noticed his no-name stuff while we wore our favorite brands they didn't mention it. Sam never had much money and it had never bothered us.

If he'd stayed he could have a decent job by now, I thought.

"Time for a snowball fight." Eric was the first outside and immediately started to form a snowball. He was quick but his aim was off and he missed the bunch of us and hit the wall instead.

"Eric's on the other team." Vincent insisted and showed Eric how to throw a snowball by hitting him in the chest.

We formed teams. Sam, Vincent and I against the others. Three against four wasn't fair but we would do our best. Maybe Eric's lacking aiming skills would even it out a little bit. Not that I was that confident in my skills, either. And Sam? C'mon he's a book-worm.

We gave ourselves a few minutes to build some kind of fort and a piles of snowballs before we declared war at each other.

Turned out it was uneven, however, not like I'd expected it.

With his giant hands Sam formed monster snowballs and he was deadly with them. With assisting fire from Vincent and me the others didn't stand a chance.

After our grandiose victory we switched to all against all. And than to all against Sam because damn that boy knew how to hold himself in a battle.

In the end we all were on the ground, Sam at the bottom, everybody wrestling and twisting, trying to give the others a face full of snow or shove some down one's collar.

Breathless we finally lay in the snow, laughing with glowing cheeks like kids while the snow melted where it had gotten under out clothes. Sam had gotten the worst of it, the poor guy was soaking wet.

"How about hot chocolate to warm us up again?" Andrea asked and one by one we pulled ourselves up. "With a healthy shot of whiskey." She added.

"I need a hot shower first." Sam tried to brush the melting snow off his jeans. He had to be cold to the bone. And the rest of us could us a change of clothes as well. We hurried inside.


	6. Chapter 6

While Sam hit the shower I used the time to change myself. I was just about to find a place for my things to dry – those guestrooms were small – when Sam rushed in, one hand clenching a towel around his waist and a ball of wet clothes in the other hand.

He stopped dead when he spotted me.

"I … I thought everybody was downstairs." He clenched the towel tighter and squeezed past me. "Should have taken some dry clothes with me in the bathroom." He muttered and dove head first in his bag clearly uncomfortable with me seeing him half-naked.

Couldn't blame him for that. I wouldn't want people to see me if I looked like I'd a round or two with Mike Tyson. And had clearly lost. For a second I just stood there and stared.

"What happened to you?" I finally found the words while Sam was pulling a shirt over his head covering up the marks on his body.

"Tripped and fell down some stairs." He tried to shrug it off. "Lucky I didn't break my neck."

I nodded as if I believed him.

Don't get me wrong, we had been roommates for quite a while. We'd seen each other half-naked before and I knew the scars he carried. Scars he didn't want to talk about. He never confirmed it but I blamed his old man for them.

Sam had gathered a few new ones but it was hard to tell because of all the fat, dark bruises covering his chest, belly and most of his back. One really big one spread from his shoulder to his neck, right where I had slapped him the night before. No wonder he'd flinched.

However, the worst were the bruises on his arm. Hand-shaped bruises, like somebody had dragged him by his arm with a death-grip.

Fell down the stairs my ass. Somebody did this to him. But his old man was dead. Or so he'd said. Would he lie about something like that? I doubted it, why would he?

There was still his brother, though. Dean.

"Let's go downstairs." Sam snapped me out of my thoughts. He was fully dressed by now and all his hurt was covered up again. I tried to smile.

"Don't trip on the stairs." I said and it was supposed to sound lighthearted. Failed on that one but Sam played along.

"Try to."

In the kitchen Andrea got us cups with steaming chocolate which she had spiced quite good.

"Frosty is back." She announced at the sight of Sam and lead the way to the fireplace where the others waited for us. Brenda offered Sam the place next to her and Eric took me aside to show me Cole's DVD collection.

"They are organized." Cole just had to tell us. "I'd like to keep it that way."

"We're not five. Jeez." Eric rolled his eyes and as soon as Cole turned he put Saw V between II and III.

"Jep, you're totally not five." But I didn't put it back in the right place either. Discussing movies with Eric I blocked out what I'd just discovered about Sam. I needed time to decide how to deal with something like that. Because honestly? It freaked the fuck out of me. Sam was a grown man, build like a tank, that wasn't the man you'd picture as a victim of abuse.

Cole had turned the music on in a low tune and then went over to Sam and Brenda. Out of the corner of my eye I watched them for a moment and I really hoped they could convince Sam to come back to us. Hell, I'd offer him a place on my couch as long as he needed it if that got him away from his family. Away from Dean. He had done it before, left them all behind, he could do it again.

"Seriously?" Eric had picked out another movie. "Cry Wolf? House of Wax? What's with all the crappy horror movies?"

Shaking my head I scanned the other titles. Cole had quite a collection here. It looked like he had every horror movie ever made.

"Did you notice that we have the setup for a crappy horror movie right here?" I looked around. "Young college students all alone in an isolated cabin in the woods. What do you think, who'll turn out to be a maniac ax murderer?"

"Andrea." Came the prompt answer.

"Andrea?" I blinked at the petite girl in the other corner with Vincent. They were moving slowly to the music and I heard Andrea's soft laughter. She could be a bundle of energy but waggling an ax? "Why Andrea?"

"That's because." Eric nodded like he had proven his point. "Nobody would suspect her. Or Sam. C'mon can you imagine Sam with something more dangerous than a nail clipper?"

We laughed at that but it sent shivers down my spine. Sam's battered body was back on my mind. For a second Eric shuddered as well so maybe it wasn't just me feeling uneasy and Andrea had been right and it was drafty in here.

"Don't tell Cole." Eric leaned in to make sure I was the only on hearing his words. "That makeover his folks did with this place is crap. It's drafty and I swear the wood working at night? It almost sounds like footsteps."

"Or it's the ax murderer looking for his next victim." I joked but my eyes were on Sam. He stood now face to face with Cole.

"I just want to help you." Cole said loud enough to get the attention of all of us. "You're throwing away your life, Sam! Can't you see that?"

Sam raised his hand in a calming down manner. "I get that you want to help me and I really appreciate that but stop. Just stop. Okay?" He ran his fingers through his hair and only now seemed to realize that he was the center of attention.

"I need fresh air." He announced and grabbed his boots and coat and a second later he was out of the door.

Cole turned around. "Did I say something wrong?" For what Brenda smacked his shoulder.

"You're an ass, you know that?"

For a second nobody moved but then Andrea looked at me.

"Maybe you should go after him."


	7. Chapter 7

I didn't bother to tie my boots just jumped in, grabbed my coat and was out of the door a second later. It had started to snow again and getting snowed in was quite a possibility by now.

I followed Sam's footprints down to the lake. At least his big feet were good for something, even in the swirling snow he was easy to track.

I found him standing at what might be the shore of the lake or maybe just a snowdrift, it was hard to tell. Fists in his pockets Sam was facing the lake and had his back turned to the cabin and the warmth and his friends. He looked isolated.

"Sam?" I asked softly when I approached him. He didn't look in my direction or even acknowledged my presence in any way.

"Cole's an ass." I said because with that you can never be wrong. Don't get me wrong, Cole was a great guy but he could be an ass.

Sam hmmed and rolled his shoulders.

"What did he say this time?" I prompted not sure how to do this. Sam was my friend but we haven't seen each other in a while and what I'd found out earlier today …

Let's just say, I didn't actually know how to proceed.

"It's not just him." Sam finally spoke eyes never leaving the lake. The trees around us groaned with the snow weighting on them and the constant wind howling through the branches. For a second I wondered if one of the branches would give under the weight and drop on our heads.

"What do you mean?" I stepped closer so that we stood shoulder to shoulder now.

"I mean." He started and broke up with strained laugh. "You are great, all of you, and I really like being here with you. It's great." He fell silent and shook his head.

"I sense a _but_ coming." I watched the snowflakes swirling in the air, casting strange patterns and for a second even something like a human silhouette but out of the corner of my eye I watched Sam. He looked sad. Lost.

"Everybody is asking me to come back." He finally said with a sigh. "I mean, I know you mean well but ..." Lost for words he stopped again. "It's just too much. I don't think it was a good idea to come here. Maybe I should call Dean and ..."

"No!" I interrupted him louder than I intended but I didn't want him to bring Dean back to this. Bring him back into his life. At least not before I'd talked to Sam about what I saw.

He looked at me as if my reaction was exactly the reason he wanted to call his brother. Like he was more comfortable with the person who abused him than with his friends. At least with Dean he knew what to expect, I guessed. Us, especially Cole, pressing the subject of him coming back wasn't the smartest move on our part, I got that. But this was probably our only chance to talk some sense into him.

"Sam, look." I backpedaled. I had to do this right or he would just disappear on us again. Leaving with his brother. For good this time, I had no doubt about that.

"I don't say you have to come back to Stanford." I didn't look at him and he didn't look at me but he was listening. "But I want you to know that you have options. You have friends here who are willing to help you. You don't have to stay with Dean." There, I said it.

"What?" Now he looked at me confused.

"You can stay at my place if you want." I offered. "As long as you want. You can get away from him. I'll help you. We can go to the police together if you want." Okay, that was maybe a bit too much too soon but I was running out of time. I had only the weekend maybe less to convince him that he deserved a better life than the one Dean was giving him.

"What are you trying to say?" Sam asked in a low voice. All of a sudden he sounded dangerous.

"Sam." I said softly. "I saw the bruises, I saw the scars. I know." I paused to let the words sink in. "You're strong. You got away from your family once, you can do it again. You don't have to stay with your brother. You don't have to see him ever again if you don't want to."

For a second he stared at me as if I was speaking Chinese.

"You think …?" He gaped at me and staggered back. "You think Dean is hurting me?" He said it as if that was the most alien thing he'd ever heard.

"Sam, I saw imprints of his damn hands on your arm." I pointed out. "You didn't fall down some stairs. Someone did this to you."

He stared at me with his mouth literally hanging open. "I can't believe this."

Running a hand through his hair he made a few steps but was in my face the next second.

"Dean would never hurt me. Never." He emphasized every word with a stab of his finger at my chest. Even through my coat I felt the strength behind that.

"How can you even think …" He shook his head. "I know you don't like him. Nobody here likes him, I get that. But you know what? Your loss." He glared at me and I wasn't sure if I'd ever known this man. I was almost scared of Sam.

"He's a better man than you'll ever be. Better than Cole and Brenda and all of you." His voice raised with every word till he was screaming at me. Apparently done with me he turned and walked away.

"Dumbest idea ever." He mumbled to himself. "What was I thinking?" He patted his coat and jeans searching for something.

"Sam, wait." I hurried after him. "I just want to help you."

Now he stopped and once again glared at me. "I don't need your help. What I need is my phone."

"Your phone?" I repeated like an idiot. "What for?" As if I didn't know.

"I'm calling Dean. I'm leaving." He continued his walk back to the cabin. "Sorry for interrupting your little weekend."

"Sam, please wait." But he shut the door in my face. I kicked it. "Fuck!"


	8. Chapter 8

When I came back in I just saw Sam disappearing up the stairs. The others stared after him but then turned towards me, expecting answers.

"He's calling his brother." I threw my coat in the corner followed by my boots. "He's leaving."

"What?" I had Andrea right in my face. "What did you say to him?" She demanded but included Cole and Brenda as well. Hell, they had all seen Sam stomping out on Cole.

I shook my head unsure of what to say. "Looks like we hassled him too much. Asking him to come back." I didn't tell them what had been the final straw. But it made me sick to know that Sam would go back to his brother.

Andrea glared at me and then at the others. Maybe Cole had been the one who had pestered Sam the most but we were all guilty of this. We squirmed under her glare and judging by the look on her face Andrea felt guilty as well.

"I'll talk to him." She said with a sigh and followed Sam.

While they were upstairs we others could only wait. I hoped Andrea could talk Sam out of it. To at least stay the rest of the weekend with us.

"Okay, what did you say to him?" Brenda cornered me in the kitchen. Vincent and Eric were talking to Cole probably asking him the same question but it was Brenda who had noticed that it had been me who had pushed Sam over the edge.

I cleared my throat not sure how to say what I suspected, what I knew.

"Sam had a rough childhood." I started. Maybe it was good to let somebody know, maybe together we could figure out a way to help Sam. "You know his family never supported him while he was at Stanford. He rarely talked about them, especially not about his father."

Brenda nodded, silently prompting me to continue.

"I think his father abused him." There I'd said it. Brenda's eyes went wide and she gasped but the way she looked at me she knew there was more. "He says his father died last summer and I believe him."

"But?"

"When he came out of the shower earlier." I swallowed against the lump in my throat. "Damn, he's covered in bruises."

"What did he say?" Brenda asked, her voice guarded.

I snorted. "That he fell down some stairs."

"You sure it's not just that?" Of course she had to ask but her tone told me she didn't believe that explanation.

"Only if stairs leave hand shaped bruises." I kept my voice low, I didn't want to drag the others into this.

"So you think his brother?" Her gaze flickered over to the door to make sure we were still alone.

"I wanted to help him." I sighed. "Offered my couch, told him that he didn't have to go back to his brother. That's when he flipped out."

"Shit." Brenda ran a hand through her hair. "What do we do now?"

I had no idea but it felt good to not be alone with this any longer. Together we would figure something out.

A minute later Andrea joined us with a sad look on her face.

"He's packing." She said. "His brother's on his way." She went over to Vincent and the others to tell them as well and Brenda and I shared a uncertain look.

When Sam didn't join us, I decided to go upstairs and use this last chance to talk once again to him. Not to convince him to stay, I was sure that would have made everything worse, but to let him know that I would be there for him if he needed me.

"Sam?"

He sat on his bed, packed duffel at his feet.

"Luis." He sighed. "I know you mean well but drop it, okay?"

I closed the door and stepped closer.

"I shouldn't have come." Sam sounded beyond tired. "I've been so stupid."

"No, it's been fun." I sat down next to him. "Okay, we've been pushy, I get that, but it's fun having you around. We missed you."

"You don't even know me." Sam said shaking his head. "You know nothing about me."

"I know you're my friend." I said because that was the thing I really knew about him, the one thing that was important. "And I want you to know that I'll be your friend no matter what. If you want to leave, okay, it's your decision. But you can call me anytime. If you need me I'll be there."I pointed at him and managed a small laugh. "My couch is waiting for your ass."

"It's not what you think." He said but didn't explain it. "Thanks for the offer but I don't need it."

"You have a place you can come to when ever you need it." I repeated my offer.

"I already have such a place."

He wanted to be alone and I gave him some privacy. The next three hours were one of longest I ever had. The weekend was ruined. We talked in quiet voices, glancing up the stairs now and then, but Sam didn't join us till the black car stopped outside. Dean was back to get his brother.

Sam came down the stairs, bag in hand and a determined look on his face.

"It was great seeing you all again. Thanks." He said and hugged us one by one.

From the porch we watched him dumping his bag in the trunk. His brother didn't even get out of the car. With one last apologizing glance at us Sam got in the car and out of our life.

It was still snowing and this was probably their last chance to get back to town before the road would be impassable. Couldn't Sam have waited an hour longer? Dean wouldn't have been able to pick him up. And maybe …

Out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement at one of the trees next to the road. Just for a second I saw a person standing there but then the wind blasted snowflakes all over the figure and it was gone. If it had ever been there.

But the wind did something else. With a bursting sound the tree gave in and in slow motion it fell across the road. If it hit the car I couldn't tell but there was the horrible sound of wood against metal.


	9. Chapter 9

For a second I was sure that the tree had crushed the car. Through the heavy snowfall it was hard to tell.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean got out of the car and on the other side Sam's door opened as well. I breathed in relief, they didn't seem hurt.

"Sam, you alright?" Brenda was the first who found her voice again and then we were all rushing to see the damage.

"We're fine." Sam reassured us but shared a glance with his brother. When we came near I saw the whole disaster. The tree had missed the car but the hood was buried under snow and branches.

"Oh, baby." Dean ran his fingers over the hood. He was more concerned about his car than his brother, figures.

The tree did a pretty good job blocking the road. We'd need a chainsaw to cut the tree in pieces and by the time we would have cleared the road the snow would have done the rest.

Sam and his brother had to stay with us, I realized.

"Dammit." Dean kicked the trunk and Sam stood one the other side of the car eyes on the offending thing in front of him.

"Hey, at least it didn't drop on the car." Sam finally spoke, trying to clam his brother who just threw a murderous glare at him.

"She's half buried under a frigging tree." Dean crawled half under the branches himself to examine the damage. "The hood is dented and the paintwork … Oh, baby." Apologizing he ran his fingers over the black metal.

"Looks like you'll stay after all." Brenda smiled at Sam and as an afterthought included Dean as well. "Both of you."

"Looks like." Sam didn't sound enthusiastic and the glare on Dean's face spoke for itself.

"I've room for one more person." Cole hurried to say. "I can't wait to get to know Sam's famous brother." He was lying through his teeth and we all knew it, except for Dean how didn't look like he cared.

"Let me get the car outa here first." Dean said and hushed Sam and us out of the way before he maneuvered the car backwards. He looked like he was in physical pain when the car moved slowly and with more scratching out under the tree.

It didn't look too bad. Yes, the hood was dented and there were deep scratches in the black paint but that was it. Maybe a busted headlight, nothing a good mechanic couldn't repair. An old battle ship like that thing, it'd take more than one lousy tree to put it down.

While Dean parked the car Cole turned to me. "I think it would be the best to give Sam and his brother a room for themselves. We can share, if you don't mind."

I did mind. If I could help it I would never let Sam be with Dean alone ever again but I didn't know how to prevent that without spilling the dirty truth. And that was the last thing Sam wanted, I got that. Overhearing Cole's offer Sam pinned me down with that look of his.

"Thanks, Cole." Sam said but his gaze was never leaving me. "That would be great."

"I'll get my stuff." I didn't like it but I packed my things and dumped them in the master bedroom. I left the laptop, though.

On the stairs I met Sam and his brother. Dean was still cursing under his breath about "frigging trees".

"All yours." I said with a forced smile. With the house full of people Sam should be safe from Dean for the moment. Or so I hoped.

"Thanks, dude." Dean had his bag over his should which looked pretty much like Sam's. Old and battered and I wondered why he had a packed bag with him.

Road trip, I remembered. They both had probably a packed bag with them all the time.

An icy fist wrenched my guts but I could only watch when the door closed behind the brothers.

"Brenda, I need your laptop." Without waiting for her answer I entered her room and fired up her computer. Maybe I couldn't be there in person but I could keep an eye on the brothers. I owed Sam that much.

"What are you doing?" Brenda looked over my shoulder while I waited for the connection. Then I got a picture.

"Are you spying on them?" She whispered.

"They can't hear us. Mike's off." I reassured her and waited what she'd do. The right thing would have been to shut the laptop. Instead we both watched what happened in the other room.

Sam sat on his bed while Dean got some things out of his bag.

"They seem pretty glad that you'll stay for a while longer." Dean said with a side glance at Sam. "Not so glad that I'll be stuck here with them, though. Especially this Luis guy. Man, I think he tried to burn a whole into my head. Did I do something to him?"

Now Sam snorted. "He thinks you did something to me."

Dean set the bag aside and sat down on the bed facing Sam. "What does that mean?"

"He saw me shirtless."

"And what? Did he start drooling all over you?" Dean teased clearly not getting the point. Maybe he was so used to Sam's bruises that he didn't think much of them anymore.

"I got banged up good at our last gig." Sam reminded him. Brenda and I shared a look. What was he talking about?

"What did you tell him?" Calm and relaxed, Dean seemed sure that Sam wouldn't tell us about him doing that to Sam.

"That I fell down some stairs." Sam shrugged it off.

Dean blinked at him. "Dude, you know that's code for somebody is using me as a punching bag, right?"

"Hey, I fell down those stairs."

"You were thrown down those stairs." Dean corrected him and shook his head in disbelief.

"You know, Luis is right with one point." Holding up his arm Sam smiled at his brother. "I have your hand prints imprinted here."

Now Dean rolled his eyes. "Okay, next time you're dangling two stories above the floor I'll just drop you."

"Sure you will."

The fell silent for a while and Brenda and I didn't speak either. This wasn't what I'd expected.

"That's why you wanted to leave?" Dean broke the silence. "One of your friends thinks I'm lashing out on you?"

Sam leaned back on his bed and rested on his elbows. "Everybody is asking me to come back. They say I'm wasting my time and my brilliance with a stupid road trip. With you. Then Luis offered to help me to get away from you. That's when I decided to leave."

Dean swallowed visibly and when he spoke his voice was husky. "Do you want to go back?"

It hit me like a sledge-hammer. I had never asked Sam if he actually wanted to come back and neither had the others. Brenda's sharp inhale right next to my ear told me that she hadn't bothered to ask that question either. Because, this was Sam. He belonged to Stanford, he had a brilliant future ahead, of course he wanted to come back. Let's say, Sam answer surprised me.

"No!" Sam shook his head to empathize the word. "Even if I could go back, no, I wouldn't want to."

"What do you want, Sammy?" His brother asked the next question I never even had considered to ask.

"I want to find that son of a bitch that killed Jess."


	10. Chapter 10

"I want to find that son of a bitch that killed Jess."

Sam dropped the bomb in a casual way as if it was the most normal thing to say. The way Dean nodded to them it probably was. For me most certainly not.

"Did he just say killed?" Brenda asked and confirmed that I had heard the same thing she had. "Jess has been murdered?"

I wanted to say that it had been a fire. Something with the wiring, an accident. But before I could open my mouth I stopped myself. I hadn't been there, neither had Brenda. The only persons who actually knew what had happened that night were Jess who couldn't tell us anymore and Sam who had told us it had been an accident. And Dean.

"The police says it was an accident." I finally said, trying to wrap my mind around the idea. Did Sam know something he hadn't told the police? Hadn't told us?

"But he said ..." She started but I interrupted her.

"Maybe he can't deal with it." I tried to be reasonable. "Maybe he needs somebody to blame."

I needed time to think about it but in the other room the conversation went on as if nothing out of the ordinary had been said.

"You had at least a bit of fun with your friends?" Dean changed the topic. "Besides the pushing to come back to Stanford part and the … you know … them thinking me being all Brother Dearest to you." He tried to crack a joke with the last part but he looked deeply hurt. Not what I had expected to see on his face.

Sam stretched out on his bed upper body propped up against the headboard and he was facing the camera. A sad smile ghosted over his lips.

"For a while." He answered in a low voice. "For a while I could pretend again that I'm one of them." He shook his head. "But it's more obvious than ever that I'm not." He sighed heavily and Brenda and I shared a look. This side of Sam neither of us had ever seen and I wondered if this was the same Sam we knew. What did he mean with pretending to be one of us?

"We're freaks." Dean shrugged and Sam's smile turned into something warm and fondly.

"And you?" Sam prompted. "What did you do after you dropped me off?"

"Ah, Sammy." Now Dean grinned from ear to ear. "I had fun. I went to that bar we saw earlier and man, I think my birthday came early this year." He made a dramatic pause. "Twins. Identical twins, Sammy."

Sam rolled his eyes but didn't correct him on the Sammy part. "So I'm lucky you weren't too … busy to pick up when I called?"

"Nah." Dean waved him off. "I was going through the coroner's reports. You saved me from an evening with boring research stuff. Oh, by the way. The hearts are missing." He added the last part with a gleeful expression.

"So we were right." Sam said as if missing hearts were a good thing. "And you're way to happy about that, you know that, right? That's a sick obsession of yours."

"What can I say? I'm a simple guy with simple pleasures." He spread his arms in a helpless manner. "Speaking of simple. How long are we stuck with your college buddies?"

"Monday." Sam answered and he didn't look happy at all. "Maybe sooner if Cole can phone in some help."

"Awesome." Dean collapsed backwards on his bed staring up to the ceiling. They fell silent for a moment allowing the questions in my head to swirl.

"Okay." Brenda pointed at Dean on the screen. "That is creepy. Coroner's reports? Missing hearts? What the hell?"

That were exactly the question in my head along with some others but I hadn't an answer whatsoever.

"What are we doing now?" I muttered to myself but hoped for Brenda to give me an answer.

"Maybe we should talk to Sam?" She sounded as doubtful as I felt.

"And admitting that we were spying on him?" No, that was out of question. "What would we ask anyway?" I paused imagining that conversation. "So Sam, you're looking for Jess' killer? Lost any hearts lately? Oh and by the way, you were just pretending to be our friend?"

There were a lot more questions raised by the little talk the brothers just had but there was no way we could actually ask them.

"So what? We just pretend everything is fine?"

"It's not like Sam is going anywhere any time soon." I rubbed my face. "And Dean is here too. Maybe we can coax some answers out of them." Yeah, that had worked so well with Sam in the past. But maybe his brother wasn't that clammed up.

A knock at the brother's door pulled me back out of my thoughts. Andrea stuck her head in and announced dinner. Dean still lay spread out on the bed and she seemed to appreciate the view. He smiled at her and she blushed.

"Dinner is ready in ten minutes." She said. "If you're hungry. You're hungry, right? Right downstairs." She pointed behind her while she babbled like a teenager.

"Thanks, Andrea." Dean answered still with that smile. "We'll be there in a few." He looked like he'd rather have her for dinner and Andrea didn't seem to mind.

A second later she was at our door and Brenda hurried to block her view on the screen while I turned the sound off. But Andrea didn't even glanced at the laptop probably assuming we were playing again.

"Dinner in ten." And with that she was already gone.

"I could get used to some of your friends." Dean said when I turned the sound back on for what Sam threw his pillow at him.

"Don't even think about it."

"C'mon, it's a long weekend."

"Yeah, and I'd like to get it over with without you sleeping with my friends. It's going to be awkward enough."

With that he was probably right. Even if you didn't count what Brenda and I just had heard, there was still the fact that Sam had wanted to leave. And now he was stuck with us and his brother was stuck here as well. Dean didn't know us and we didn't know him.

However, I still had my suspicions about him and the last few minutes didn't help to put them at ease.

Sam got up from the bed, stretched and nudged his brother's foot.

"Let's get this over with." Sam said and when he passed the laptop he shut it. Spying time was over and I doubted I could set up the laptop again.


	11. Chapter 11

Awkward was a mild word to describe that dinner. Brenda and I were still rattled by the conversation we'd just eavesdropped on. Sam looked like he wanted to be somewhere else which was kinda the main reason for the awkwardness and he avoided looking in my direction. And in Cole's for that matter.

Dean had a flirting eye on Andrea but he was tense and clearly uncomfortable sitting with us at the same table.

Cole, Eric and Vincent were openly staring at Dean which didn't help to ease the tension. But c'mon, this was Sam's mysterious brother. The one he'd talked about only occasional and if there was alcohol involved.

"So, Dean." Cole started as if he wasn't sure about the name. "Sam never told us what you do for a living." _Besides being on a pointless road trip_ were the unspoken but clearly intended words.

Sam and Dean shared a look.

"I'm a mechanic." Dean met Cole's eye as if he was challenging him to make a comment about that.

"And as a _mechanic_." Cole said the word as if it was something dirty and I wasn't the only one who wanted to smack him for that. Brenda sat next to him so she was the one who kicked his shin. But Cole just kept talking.

"You can afford to go on a road trip for over a year?" Cole raised his eyebrow, openly sizing Dean up, taking in the worn clothes he, and for that matter Sam as well, wore.

"I don't think it's any of your business what I can or can not afford." Dean's face hardened and next to him Sam shifted uncomfortable in his chair.

"Dean." Sam said and that word was enough to change something in his brother. What exactly I couldn't really tell.

"Sam, could you pass me the salt?" Andrea tried to turn the conversation but it was a lost cause. Without looking at her Sam passed the salt, eyes fixed on Cole.

"Sam is a brilliant young man, Dean." Cole just couldn't drop it. "He's wasting his time with that trip of yours. As his brother you should encourage him to build a future for himself. He deserves a better life."

Now Dean put his fork down.

"Listen, buddy." Dean said in a dangerous low voice. An eery silence lay over the table while we waited for Dean's next words. "You don't know me, you don't know Sam, you know nothing about us."

Sadly Cole wasn't somebody who would back off. "I know Sam, we all know Sam, he's our friend. Who we don't know is you. Where were you all those years? You don't even care about Sam."

"Cole, stop it." Sam spoke up and his expression was as dark as his brothers. I can't speak for the others but this Sam I didn't know at all.

Then his face softened and Sam was Sam again.

"There's a lot you don't know." He said with pleading eyes and with a hum Cole turned his attention back to the plate in front of him.

After we'd finished our meal and the dishes were done we had to figure out what to do with the rest of the evening.

Eric suggested to watch a movie. Play it save, I guess. With that everybody could pretend to be absorbed in the movie and didn't have to talk to the others. But Sam and Dean excused themselves and went upstairs.

As soon as we heard the door close behind them we started to gossip. There is no nicer way to describe what we were doing.

"What a grunt." Vincent threw himself on the couch. We settled around the fireplace.

"A mechanic. Sure." Cole put another log on the fire. "I'm telling you, he's dragging Sam down some criminal road."

I had mused about where the money for their trip came from before but now I wondered.

"Their dad died last summer." I offered. "Maybe he left them some money. Or they sold his house or whatever."

That was news to the others so for a minute we sat there in silence, processing that information. Well, I strained my ears and listened for noises from upstairs. I don't know what I expected, arguing and yelling maybe. I doubted Dean would actually do something to Sam with us in earshot but I had this uneasy feeling in my guts.

Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a movement on the stairs and for a second I expected Sam to join as. But when I turned my head there was nothing.

In my mind I replayed the conversation Brenda and I had listened in to and it became more and more obvious to me that Dean was manipulating Sam. Maybe he had put the fix idea of Jess being murdered in Sam's head in the first place, using it to bind Sam to him with a wild goose chase after an imaginary killer.

I was still convinced that Dean was abusing Sam. Had him manipulated into believing it wasn't abuse rather some twisted form of showing his love or some shit like that. Maybe Dean believed it himself. But c'mon, Dean had admitted that Sam had been thrown down the stairs. He hadn't said it had been him doing the throwing but who else could have done it? And he had outright admitted that it was his hand print on Sam's arm. I wasn't sure about the dangling part they had talked about but in my mind I had an unpleasant picture of Dean shoving Sam over a balustrade threatening to drop him.

Maybe I did Dean wrong but somebody had done this to Sam. I'd seen the scars, had seen the way Sam tried to hide them. Like they were a dirty little secret.

I shared a glance with Brenda and I'd never felt that helpless in my life.

While the fire burned down we mused about Dean. Every little detail we'd noticed we dragged into the light to analyze it. The way he moved, the way he dressed and talked and ate. His way with Sam. I didn't outright say what I thought about their relationship and neither did Brenda but that wasn't necessary.

"Tomorrow I'll talk to Dean." Andrea offered. "Maybe he can convince Sam. He has to be proud that his brother made it to Stanford. I can't believe he wouldn't want Sam to have a better life than he has."

I wasn't so sure about that remembering Sam's comment at the Halloween party shortly before the fire. It hadn't sounded like his family cared about higher education. But at least Andrea could try.

Later I followed Cole to the master bedroom. On the dresser I found my laptop and if Sam suspected that I'd used it to spy on him I didn't know.

The bedroom had only one bed but it was big enough for at least three people and it shouldn't be a problem for Cole and me to stay on different sides of the bed.

It took a while for me to fall asleep.

I woke to a scream.


	12. Chapter 12

There was a scream and an awful rumble and then a second of silence while I tried to figure out if those noises were part of a dream or if I'd actually heard them. Then I was out of the bed and at the door with Cole right next to me. So he had heard the same noises and for a heartbeat I didn't dare to open the door, afraid of what I might find. But then other doors opened and voices asked what happened.

And then there was another scream, Andrea or Brenda, I couldn't really tell but it was high and female and Eric shouted: "Vincent!"

When Cole and I finally got out of the room into the narrow hallway, the master bedroom was at the far end so we were the last to see what had happened. But a cold fist in my stomach told me to expect the worst.

I stood shoulder to shoulder with Sam when I finally managed to have a look down the stairs. Brenda and Dean were down there in crouched positions over a motionless Vincent.

"Is he ...?" Cole asked unable to finish the sentence. Down at the bottom Dean moved and I saw the unnatural way Vincent's neck was twisted in. No way he was still alive.

I took in the scene without really getting what it meant. Vincent was dead. He lay there on the cold floor and was dead. He had been alive a few hours ago. Had joked and laughed with us and now he was dead.

In numb silence we all stood there. Brenda backed off from our dead friend, hands covering her mouth and little sobbing cries creeping out behind them.

Then Dean looked up and his eyes met Sam's. Slowly Sam made his way down the stairs. With a gentle touch he guided Brenda over to the fireplace and helped her to settle down. A moment later he was back with a blanket and when Dean nodded he covered the body with it.

The body. I wasn't even thinking of it as Vincent anymore. This wasn't a person, this was just a body. I wanted to throw up.

"What happened?" Cole asked, his question directed at Eric who was on his way down the stairs. We others followed, eyes fixed on the blanket and the still form underneath. It didn't even look like a person anymore. Just something lumpy under a blanket.

"Dunno." Eric answered and he was practically choking on the word. "I woke up when he left the room. Didn't say where he wanted to go."

The bathroom was my first thought but for that he wouldn't even have to get near the stairs. So maybe the kitchen for a glass of water or a midnight snack. And then he tripped and fell down the stairs.

"What ..." Andrea started but broke up when her voice cracked. "What are we going to do now?"

"We have to call the police." Brenda answered. For now she had herself under control again.

"The road is blocked." Cole reminded her. "They'll have to send a plow first." He sighed and stepped around the blanket in a wide circle. "I'll make the call but it'll take a while till somebody gets here."

"It was an accident, wasn't it?" Eric asked. "We're not getting into trouble for this, aren't we?" With big eyes he looked from one to the other but I avoided to meet his eye and so did the others. All except for Sam and Dean.

"It was an accident." Sam reassured him. "We'll have to talk to the police but this was clearly an accident."

Cole came back from the kitchen were he had left his phone to charge. Now he hold it up with a frown on his face.

"I've no reception." He told us.

Glad to have something to do except for looking at the blanket in the middle of our little group we all went back to the rooms to get our phones.

Mine had no reception either.

"Damn weather." Eric muttered. He was the last who checked and he couldn't get a call out. Nobody could.

Not knowing what to do we stood there and tried really hard to not look at the blanket. Eric had his arm around Andrea's shoulder, I wasn't sure who was supporting whom, and Brenda stood close enough to Sam for him to hold her as well. For a minute or so we were the Fellowship again. Minus Vincent, which was a hard part to miss, and plus Dean who stood between us like some intruder.

"You said the plow will come on Monday." Dean spoke as if there wasn't a dead friend of ours laying behind him. "If we get reception back before that we'll call the police, if not we'll ask the plow guy to get one of us back to town to call it in."

It sounded like a plan. Like he knew what to do. Like he had dealt with this kind of situation before.

"What are we going to do with ... Vincent until then?" Eric asked and tightened his grip around Andrea's shoulder.

"Sam and I'll take him outside." Dean said as if that was obvious. As if carrying a dead body was no business at all. And as if he expected Sam to be okay with carrying a dead friend of his. "I saw a shed at the side. That's where you store your firewood?" The last part was directed at Cole who just nodded.

"Okay, that should work." Sam spoke up and with one last pat on Brenda's arm he unwound himself out of her grip. "It's cold enough outside."

He didn't elaborate that but it was clear that he was thinking of decomposition.

I have to admit that I was glad that I didn't have to touch Vincent. The thought of him being dead was bad but actually touching him now? I had never seen a dead body in my life.

However, without a word Sam and Dean went to work. They got dressed and a few minutes later they were ready to … carry Vincent out.

With what looked suspiciously like practiced moves they wrapped the blanket tight around the body and then carried it outside. Cole went with them to hold the door open and to show them where they could put Vincent.

While they were out I had time to think. Before Dean had shown up everything had been fine. And now Vincent fell down the stairs. Just like Sam not long ago.


	13. Chapter 13

It was still early, just a little after three, but there was no way we could go back to sleep. So we went upstairs to get dressed and Andrea announced to make coffee. She didn't mention breakfast but the thought of food alone would have flipped my stomach.

On my way upstairs I avoided to step on the spot were Vincent had been laying and as far as I could tell so did the others. There wasn't anything there to mark that spot, no blood or anything, but we all knew exactly were to not set our feet. I dressed quickly because I wanted to hurry back down to rejoin the others. It felt strange being alone and my mind played tricks on me. Out of the corner of my eye a shadow looked like a person, the wood worked and it sounded like footsteps and with the heating down over night chills were running down my spine.

When I passed the girl's room, Brenda grabbed my arm and dragged me inside.

"What do you think?" She asked and dropped on her bed. I sat on Andrea's because the only chair in the room was buried under clothes.

"I don't know." I shook my head but the questions were circling in my head.

"You think it was an accident?" She clarified as if I didn't know exactly what she was talking about. "One hell of a coincidence with Sam "falling down" some stairs a few days ago and now Vincent." She even did the air-marks.

"You think Dean did it?" To be honest, that was exactly what I was thinking. Everything had been fine and then Dean had showed up and now Vincent was dead.

"Wouldn't surprise me."

Yeah, and he had been the one talking about coroner reports and missing hearts.

"You think Sam knows?" That was the thing really bothering me. Was Sam another victim of Dean's or was he his accessory? The way Sam looked with all that bruising and the scars I thought of him as a victim, maybe manipulated by his brother.

"You know Sam." She said but she sounded as unsure as I felt about that by now. Did we know Sam? "He's a softy, it would be easy for Dean to manipulate him. Maybe did it for years."

I nodded, that made sense. This was another reason I wanted to get Sam as far away as possible from his brother. Maybe if we could proof that Dean actually had killed Vincent ...

"What are we going to tell the others?" Brenda asked and I had no answer to that.

"Let's get downstairs and then we'll see." I stood up. "But when the police arrives I'm going to tell them all I know."

"So will I."

When we reached the kitchen Sam and Dean were there as well. Andrea had made coffee for all of us and we stood there, steaming mugs in hand, but didn't actually drink. Outside in the shed lay Vincent, slowly freezing till he'd be as stiff as a board. It felt wrong but I had no idea what else to do.

"Any luck with the phones?" Sam asked, it was more to fill the silence but Cole checked anyway.

"Maybe when it stops snowing." Cole said vaguely. "Or maybe the plow-driver decides to check on us early."

On a weekend without no good reason at all? I doubted it but I didn't say anything.

"What are we going to do till then?" Eric asked and we were suddenly very interested in our coffee. No way we could just continue like nothing had happened. We had wanted to get out for some ice skating in the morning and Andrea had suggested a snowman contest but that suddenly felt alien to me. How could we have fun while Vincent lay there in the shed like a log of wood?

"We just have to sit this out." Dean spoke up.

"He wasn't a friend of yours." Cole cut him down with a cold glare. "You didn't know him."

Dean raised his hands in defense. "Yeah, I didn't know him but Sam did and Sam cares."

"And you always care about Sam, right?" Cole spat at him. "If it would mean anything to you what is best for your brother you would have encouraged him to come back months ago."

"This is not the right time for this." Sam got between them, practically standing between Cole and Dean.

Cole grumbled and for a moment it looked like he wanted to tell Dean exactly what he was thinking about him but then he turned away. "I'll get the fire going, it's getting cold in here."

"Don't mind him." Eric spoke between two sips of his coffee. "This is a bit rough for all of us."

Dean nodded and stepped back. Leaning against the counter he stood shoulder to shoulder with Sam on one side of the kitchen and Eric, I and the girls on the other side. It felt like there was the Chinese Wall right between us.

"You are taking this very well, Dean." Brenda said after a minute of silence.

Dean shrugged. "Like Cole said, I didn't even know him."

But that wasn't all. He, and for that matter Sam as well, had handled the body in a very rational manner. No freaking out, no hesitation, nothing.

"People tend to fall down stairs around you, don't they?" Brenda had actually said it. I would never have the courage to say that right in Dean's face but she did it. Holding my breath I waited for Dean's answer.

"Woah, what?"

"I know that Sam fell down some stairs only a few days ago." Brenda stepped forward confronting Dean while Sam glared at me. Of course, I was the one who had told Brenda in the first place and he knew it.

"What?" Andrea and Eric didn't know anything and were now looking around clearly hoping for someone to explain the situation to them.

"What are you trying to say?" Dean set his mug on the counter.

"Somebody hit Sam." Brenda locked eyes with him and didn't back off when he was looming over her with a stone cold expression on his face. Yeah, this man could murder someone without batting an eyelash. "Somebody threw him down a staircase."

"I fell." Sam was now next to Dean. "Dean didn't do anything to me. And he didn't do anything to Vincent if that's what you're indicating."

"Sam." I entered the conversation. "We want to help you." I tried a reassuring smile but it didn't work. It only made Sam angry.

"I told you, you're wrong." He said in a low voice. "Nobody is hitting me, nobody is abusing me. I tripped over my feet and fell down those damn stairs."

"Dean said you were thrown." Brenda crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"What ...? When ...?" Dean demanded to know but then Sam's face darkened.

"The laptop." Jup, he'd figured it out. "You were spying on us?"

"We're trying to help you." Brenda tried again.

"Enough!" Sam bellowed and for a second we fell in shocked silence. "You had no right. And you're wrong." With that he turned and stomped out of the kitchen.

"If you know what's good for you, you shut your damn mouth and leave us the hell alone." Dean's voice was low and dangerous and he pinned first Brenda and then me down with his glare. Then he abruptly turned and followed his brother upstairs.


	14. Chapter 14

On his way out Dean bumped into Cole but didn't bother to stop.

"What was that all about?" Cole asked eyes on the two men disappearing upstairs.

"Yeah, what was that all about?" Andrea stood with her hands on her hips and looked from Brenda to me and back. "Why would you think ..." She waved her hand unable to put her thoughts in words.

"We should sit down." I said with a sigh and led the way to the now warm fireplace. There Brenda and I told the others what I saw, what we heard and what we suspected.

"Your really think Dean might have thrown Vincent down the stairs?" Eric rubbed his face with both hands. "Oh, man."

"I don't know." I answered truthfully. "But it wouldn't surprise me. You haven't seen Sam. Somebody hit him and he went down those stairs, that's a fact."

"But Dean?" Andrea bit her bottom lip. "He seems like a nice guy."

"Because he was flirting with you." Brenda reminded her. "Of course he plays the nice guy as long as he wants to get in your pants." For that Andrea smacked Brenda's shoulder but it was half-hearted.

"We have no proof that Vincent's death is anything else than an accident." Cole kept it rational. "It could be just that. Why should Dean do such a thing? He's no reason, he didn't even know Vincent."

Cole had a point there. And accusing somebody of murder was a big step.

"I tell you what." I leaned forward, elbows resting on my knees. I kept my voice down because I didn't want Sam or Dean to hear me. "When the police arrives Brenda and I are going to tell them exactly what we just told you. Then they shall sort this out."

We nodded in agreement. It sounded like a plan. Reasonable. Like we had the situation under control.

"I still don't believe it." Andrea sighed and rested her head on the back of the couch. "It was dark and Vincent probably was still half asleep and he tripped. Accidents do happen."

Nobody disagreed with her but we all had our doubts.

"You said something about Jess." Eric changed the topic. "That Sam wants to find her killer?"

Yeah, that was the thing I still hadn't figured out. The official reports said the fire had been an accident, something with the wiring.

"I think Sam can't deal with her death." Brenda spoke up. "Maybe he needs somebody to blame." That were the words I'd told her and back than they had felt right. In the light of the last hour I wasn't so sure anymore. There happened to be quite a few accidents around Dean.

"Hadn't Dean been there as well?" Cole had noticed it too. "It was him who got Sam out of there in time, wasn't it?" Nobody answered that because well all knew the story. Or so we thought.

I stared into the flames. Dean hadn't been at Stanford for a visit the whole time Sam had been there and then he showed up and dragged Sam on a trip with him in the middle of the night and two days later Sam's life at Stanford went up in flames. Coincidence, there it was again.

Avoiding to talk or think about Vincent we focused on Sam and Dean. Not that the thought of a possible murderer among us was reassuring but it kept our minds busy. When the sun finally was up we all sighed in relief.

"I'll make more coffee." Andrea got up. "And maybe some breakfast."

I wanted to say that I wasn't hungry, that I'd probably wouldn't eat ever again but my stomach betrayed me. It grumbled at the thought of food and I heard similar noises from Eric who was sitting next to me.

A few minutes later the smell of fresh coffee filled the air but no bacon this time. I didn't think one of use could have handled greasy stuff right then and I was thankful that Andrea had settled for simple toast.

"Somebody should get Sam and Dean." Andrea said when we sat down at the table. I shifted uncomfortable on my chair, after what we had talked about, and okay gossiped about, I didn't want to face the Winchesters.

"I get them." Eric offered.

We listened in silence to his footsteps on the stairs, then the knock on the door and quiet voices. I didn't understand words but it wasn't yelling or anything so that was good. Seconds later Eric appeared at the top of the stairs and the brothers right behind him.

Suddenly Eric yelped.

I turned my head just quick enough to see Dean grabbing Eric's arm.

"Easy." Dean said and it sounded light-hearted but there were hard lines on his face.

"Let me go." Eric shrugged him off and jogged down the stairs while Dean stood there holding his hands up in defense.

"Sorry dude, for saving your neck." Dean shouted and come down slowly with Sam on his heels. "Jeez."

"Saving my neck." Eric turned as soon as he had solid ground under his feet. "My ass. You pushed me!"

"What? You were about to take the quick route."

"Because you pushed me." Eric hurried to get some distance between himself and Dean while the Winchesters exchanged a worried look.

"You tried to kill me. Just like Vincent. Shit." Fists in his hair Eric circled around the room. "He's a serial stairway pusher. Shit. We're snowed in with a fucking serial killer."

"Eric." Sam stepped forward but Eric shyed away from him. "Dean didn't push you. I saw it. He really saved you."

"Somebody pushed me." Eric insisted. "So if it wasn't him than it was you, Sam? Is that what you're trying to tell me? Great."

"Neither of us pushed you." Sam looked at him with this sad eyes of his and it visibly calmed Eric down. Not by much but a bit.

"Stay away from me." Eric glared at Dean and kept his distance. "Both of you, stay away."

"These stairs are tricky." Dean said but his eyes were on Sam communicating subtext I didn't understand. "Better be careful."

It ended with the Winchesters taking their coffee back to their room and that was probably the best solution.

"Are you sure he pushed you?" Andrea asked after Eric had calmed down enough to stop pacing.

"I felt his fucking hand on my fucking back." Eric spat. "Yeah, I am sure he pushed me. Tried to play the hero afterward, what an asshole!" The last part he screamed loud enough for Dean to hear.

"Maybe we should lock him up in the room." Brenda suggested. "Until the police gets here."

The cabin had higher standards than usual cabins, I had to give it that, but it was still just a cabin.

"I doubt the lock would hold if he'd decide that he wants to get out." I had to point out. "And even if so, I doubt he would just sit there and let us board up the window."


	15. Chapter 15

We ate breakfast just because it was there. The coffee tasted bitter and the toast was a soggy mass in my mouth growing bigger by the minute. The way the others pushed their meals on their plates from one side to the other, or in Eric's case torturing a piece of toast with his fork, they felt the same.

"Should we bring them some?" Andrea asked gesturing around the table of half eaten things. "At least some toast?"

She had a point there. It was Saturday morning, early morning, and the plow wouldn't arrive before Monday around noon. Maybe later. So we couldn't just let the Winchester brothers starve up in their room. Sitting with them, or at least with Dean, at the same table was out of question, though.

Before somebody had time to answer I heard footsteps behind me.

"Where are you going?" Cole asked and eyed Dean closely who just passed the kitchen. For the first time I took in how heavily build he was, the way he moved, sure and confident. He had this bad guy image before with the way he dressed and the way he talked and the way he walked with this swagger of his but now it all translated to dangerous. I've to admit I was glad that I didn't have to face Dean alone.

"Just need some things from the car." Dean hold his hands away from his body in the universal "I'm not armed" gesture and with that he got his boots and a second later he was out of the door.

Andrea used the moment to prepare a tray with a few things and then hurried upstairs to bring Sam breakfast. I on the other hand had a close eye on Dean. From my angle at the window I couldn't really see what he was doing, the car was parked facing the cabin and he was at the trunk, but after a minute or so and a quick glance around as if he expected to be watched, Dean got a bag out of the trunk and then hurried to get back inside. Snowflakes swirled in the air and he had to work his way through the deep snow.

_We need that plow,_ I thought.

Back inside Dean stomped to get rid of most of the snow and then bent down to unlace his boots. The bag sat beside him on the floor and I wasn't the only one eying it.

"What's in there?" Cole asked. It was his cabin so it was his right to know what somebody like Dean brought into his house. Especially if it looked as clunky as the things in that bag. It had even made a metallic sound when he'd set it on the floor. Tools? Weapons? I'd no idea what he had in there but I couldn't come up with an explanation that didn't make me feel uncomfortable, though.

"Just need to check something." Getting rid of the second boot Dean stood up and wiggled his sock-clad toes. For a second he looked like an over-grown boy. The moment outside had been enough to redden his cheeks and partly melted snow stuck in his hair.

That was when Andrea got out of the brother's room and made her way down the stairs. Instantly Dean's attention was on her. Figures. I made a mental note to not give Dean a chance to catch her alone. I didn't even want to think about how that could end.

"You really should be careful on those stairs." Dean said when Andrea reached the bottom. Looking with wide eyes at him Andrea hurried for shelter in our little group. Something like hurt flashed over Dean's face but it was covered up with a cold mask not a second later. Maybe I'd just imagined it.

"I know it sounds weird." Dean scratched the back of his head. "But does anybody happen to have noticed some strange things going on lately?"

"You mean besides you and your pushing people down the stairs?" Eric asked and Dean pinned him down with his glare. I've never been comfortable with guns and stuff but back than I'd have sold my soul for a gun.

"I mean things like cold spots, weird noises, that kind of stuff." Dean clarified ignoring Eric's comment. "Maybe you think you saw something ..." He prompted and looked from one to the other.

It was drafty in the cabin, we all had noticed that at some point even if Cole told us otherwise. And the wood was working when the temperature changed but that was what wood did. The figure in the snow came to mind but that was nothing, right? Just a trick of the light, the snowflakes and some bushes.

"It's the middle of the winter and we're snowed in." Cole spat at Dean as if he was five. "Of course it's cold. What do you want?" Stepping forward he was now right in Dean's face and I half expect Dean to punch him.

"Nothing." Dean said instead and got his bag. "Just do me a favor and stay off those stairs." He said and betrayed his own words the next second by going up said stairs.

"This is my cabin." Cole raised his voice but I heard the little shaking in it and I guess so did Dean. "I'm going wherever I want to go."

"Whatever." Dean shot him a look over his shoulder, readjusted his grip around the handle of the bag and was half-way up to the upper floor when something happened.

I'm not sure what I saw or if I actually saw something at all. Just for a second there was a familiar figure waiting for Dean at the top. He didn't see it because his gaze was locked on Cole and I doubt anybody of the others saw it because we all were kinda focused on Dean. But there it was and it stretched out one arm and the next second Dean fell backwards as if somebody had pushed him.

A surprised scream on his lips he went down. Flailing arms and legs, the bag in the middle of it and with a loud thud he landed at the bottom.

"Dean!" Sam came running for his brother and I only had a second to wonder if there really had been something up there or not.

"No, no, no." Sam was at his brother's side who hadn't gotten up yet. "Dean!"


	16. Chapter 16

For a second I thought Dean was dead. But then he groaned and moved a bit but Sam gently pinned him down.

"Don't move." And with that Sam released his hold on his brother and started to probe the back of Dean's head. "You feel everything?"

"Feel more than I like." Dean panted and let his head fall back. "Do I smell blood?"

When he said that my eyes began to wander. Until then I'd been focused on Sam examining his brother's head but now I noticed a puddle of blood on the floor. I couldn't see where it was coming from, somewhere between his leg and the bag tangled up with him, but the amount made me a bit nauseous.

With sure hands Sam finished his exam while we others just stood there and watched. It was like a traffic accident. You know it's wrong to stare but you just can't help it.

"Okay, I'll move your leg now." Sam warned his brother and then stretched out the leg. Dean bit down a cry.

"Easy." Sam hushed. Somehow Dean had gotten his foot through the handle of the bag and Sam had some difficulties to sort that out. Now I saw where the blood was coming from. One hell of a knife or maybe it was a machete had cut the bag open from the inside and it had slid the side of Dean's thigh. While we were watching the puddle under Dean grew. With a gagging noise Cole turned away but we others kept staring.

"Let me look." Sam ripped the jeans farther to get to the wound beneath.

"How bad is it?" Dean had his arm over his eyes and his breathing was harsh but otherwise he seemed pretty relaxed. Maybe he was dizzy from the nosedive. Concussed maybe.

"You'll live." Sam reassured him with a warm smile. "But it needs stitches." He sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Then he looked up and his eyes settled on me.

"Luis, in the trunk is a first aid kit." He fished the car keys out of his brother's pocket who weakly tried to bat his hand away. "Get it."

Out of reflex I caught the keys he threw at me but it took me a moment to process what he had ask me to do.

"Eric, help me." Sam ordered in a tone I'd never heard out of his mouth before. It would have served a drill sergeant. "We'll bring him over to the couch. Brenda, a blanket. Andrea, I need water and a washcloth."

I left the cabin to get the kit while behind me the others went into action. My hands were trembling and I dropped the keys in the snow before I managed to open the trunk. I leaned heavily on the cold metal and tried to get my breathing back under control. In my mind the seconds of Dean's fall played over and over again. One moment I was sure that I had seen what I thought I'd seen and the next second I laughed it off. In the end I didn't know what to think anymore and in my mind was only space for that growing puddle of blood. Right, the kit.

What Sam wanted to do with it, I had no idea. Nobody here had medical training, no doctor in the house. So what, we'd slap a band-aid over that gash in Dean's thigh and hope his leg won't fall off till Monday? That he won't bleed to death? I shook my head. The whole situation was ridiculous and I half expected to wake up any second now.

The trunk was surprisingly empty except for some dirty clothes, some tools and the first aid kit. I took it and was about to shut the lit when my eye caught something. The bottom didn't really fit. There was a gape where it shouldn't be and out of curiosity I prayed it open.

"Holy shit!" I staggered back and nearly fell ass first into the snow. With Dean taking the dive down the stairs my suspicions about him had decreased but now they were back full force. There was a hidden compartment in the trunk and it was full of weapons. All shapes and forms and for some I didn't even have a name. Handguns, rifles, shotguns, a knife collection, wooden stakes. Why the hell would somebody need wooden stakes?

"Luis!" Angela shouted from the front door. "Sam needs that kit."

"Coming!" I shouted back and with more force than necessary I shut the false bottom and the lit. Only when I reached the warmth of the cabin I realized that I could have taken a gun. Not that I had any idea how to use it but I could have taken one.

They had settled Dean on the couch with a blanket under him to protect the upholstery from the blood. Cole would get a heart attack if his precious couch got stained with blood. As soon as he'd be back from the bathroom where I still could hear him gagging.

Sam had ripped the fabric of the jeans all the way up to Dean's hip and was no cleaning the wound on his brother's leg with a washcloth and water out of a bowl. His hands were covered with blood but he worked concentrated with sure movements.

"Set it there." Sam nodded at the table and rinsed his hands in the bowl. I set the kit where he wanted it and then fell back in line with the others who had formed a loose circle around the brothers. Sam opened the kit and gave Dean some pills out of a bottle with the label scratched off.

_Not the first refill,_ I thought randomly.

This was definitively not the Sam I knew.

Dean grunted in pain when Sam disinfected the gash but that didn't stop him from working on the wound.

"What are you doing?" Andrea asked when Sam got threat and needle out.

"This needs stitches." He answered without looking at her. His eyes were fixed on the gash.

"You're not a doctor, Sam." The raising panic in her voice was clear and it mirrored my own feelings about this. It was a nightmare.

And then Sam pushed the needle through his brother's flesh for the first time.

This was worse than Dean lying in his own blood on the floor but I couldn't look away. Eric made a step forward maybe to stop Sam or to say something but froze when Dean glared at him over Sam's shoulder.

We backed off to give the brothers some privacy and I couldn't quite believe what Sam was doing right there in front of our eyes.

For the next few minutes the only sound in the room were Dean's muffled grunts of pain, which weren't that muffled anymore in the end, and Sam's low voice whispering reassuring words to his brother. We all breathed in relief when Sam tied the last knot.


	17. Chapter 17

To my surprise Dean hadn't lost consciousness by the time Sam had washed the blood off his skin and had taped gaze over the row of neat little stitches. I doubt a doctor could have done a better job.

"Where did you learn that?" Brenda was the one who had stepped closer in curiosity and was now watching with big eyes as Sam put his things away and closed the kit. He didn't answer her, though. His attention was fully on his brother.

"Did you see it?" Sam asked and in my mind flashed the image of what I was pretty sure I hadn't seen. Dean shook his head so he hadn't seen it either. Because there was nothing to be seen. He tripped. Bad luck or just desserts or something.

"I was looking down at douchebag over there." Dean nodded in Cole's direction. "Didn't pay attention. Sorry." The last word was softly spoken and clearly not for my ears. Sam patted the knee of Dean's not injured leg.

"Just a gash and you knocked your head. You had worse, you'll live." While he had taken care of Dean Sam had been controlled, almost cold, but now his voice trembled with emotions.

"What got my leg?" Dean hadn't dared to move but he rubbed the sweat off his face looking at the ceiling. If he was aware of us watching every move the brothers made he didn't show. It was like they were alone in their small little world.

With a grin Sam hold up the machete. An evil looking thing covered in Dean's blood. Dean looked at it as if he'd never seen it before in his life.

"Hey, you packed it in the bag, Dean." Sam laid the machete back on the table where it had left a puddle of blood before. Cole hadn't said a word about that but he was still busy keeping his stomach under control. He looked a bit green around the nose and the heavy smell of blood in the air didn't seem to help him. It nearly made me gag too and I focused on breathing through the mouth.

After a long thoughtful pause Dean said: "It was still in there from …" He stopped suddenly aware of us watching him. Then he shrugged with the attempt of a smile. "Thought it couldn't hurt. It was in a sheath." He emphasized the last words.

"Great." Sam straightened up and looked around as if he expected one of us had slipped his brother the machete. Or as if he expected us to attack him, I wasn't sure which. His eyes finally settled on the sliced open bag and I followed his gaze but it was Eric who stood right next to it and who bent down to have a closer look now.

"Eric." Sam shot up but it was too late. Eric had the remains of the bag open and was now holding up a shotgun. Another one was peeking out along with some other stuff.

"Sam?" Eric held the gun awkwardly with his fingertips and the only thought in my head was: Is it loaded?

The way Sam approached Eric in a slow and desperately not threatening manner it totally was.

"I can explain." Sam said and reached for the gun but Eric stepped back holding it out of his reach. At least he was pointing it at the floor.

"Shotguns?" Cole had found his voice again. "Sam, what was he doing with shotguns? I can't believe it. He is a serial killer, isn't he?" Cole pointed past Sam at Dean who was still laying on the couch. However he had turned to his side, a hard expression on his face and one hand in a strange angle behind his back. He shouldn't look like a threat like that but he did. Pale and sweaty he dared everybody just to blink wrong.

Distracted by Cole's outburst Eric didn't even realize that Sam had snatched the gun from his hand. Dragging the bag and with it the second shotgun with him Sam backed off till he stood between us and Dean, shotgun loosely in his hand but the way he hold it was strange. Something I'd never expected to see, c'mon this was Sam. But he looked like he knew how to handle the gun, with Dean right next to him it even looked natural.

"Can we all calm down now?" Sam pleaded and lay the gun on top of the bag. Out of his hand but within easy reach. I swallowed dryly. What had happened to the Sam I knew? And who was this stranger?

"Why are there guns in my house?" Cole stood in front of Sam but his glare switched from Sam to Dean. He was the one who had brought them in after all. And he had an honest to God arsenal in the trunk of his car.

"We think we have a problem here." Sam said and wasn't that an understatement.

Cole snorted. "Your brother is the problem here."

"Hey, buddy." Dean spoke up. Propped up on one elbow he shouldn't be much of a threat and his expression had softened a bit. "Your friend didn't just fell down the stairs. Neither did I."

"Because you pushed him?" It was Brenda who had the courage to call him on to that. Totally ignoring the part where he went down the stairs as well.

"I didn't do anything." Dean defended himself. "But something pushed me and I bet it did the same to your friend."

"Something?" Brenda repeated and then locked eyes with me. We knew Dean wasn't the sanest person on the planet, hell, he'd talked about missing hearts not long ago. "Like what?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." Sam smiled that warm smile of his but this time I didn't fall for it. I had no idea what to think anymore and I only hoped to survive long enough to get to the police.

"I know this sounds weird but did anyone notice something strange?" Sam continued and locked eyes with everyone. For a second he was our Sam again, the guy who had studied with us and who had always listened when we needed somebody to listen.

"Strange like somebody carrying shotguns around?" Eric snorted but I couldn't stop thinking of the figure I hadn't seen.

"Something like cold spots." Sam ignored that comment and unknowingly repeated his brother's earlier question. "Strange noises. That kind of thing."

"Or you saw something you're not sure it was real or not." Dean added with an honest look as if that was a totally normal thing. I avoided his eye.

"Well, it's drafty in here." Andrea finally said.

"It is not drafty." Cole glared at her.

However, I felt Dean's attention on me and I tried my best not to squirm. It was Sam who spoke to me, though.

"Luis?" His voice was warm and concerned as if I was in some kind of distress and he had to calm me down. "What did you see?"


	18. Chapter 18

"What did you see?" Sam asked and suddenly all eyes were on me.

"Nothing." I hurried to say and tried hard to look at nobody in specific.

"Luis." Sam stepped closer and with that one step he was the old Sam again, my friend. The Sam I'd gotten drunk with and with whom I'd shared memories about our first crushes.

"Luis, what did you see?" He ducked down to look me in the eye.

This was ridiculous. I hadn't seen anything. I'd thought I had seen something but it was impossible, just a trick my mind was playing on me. I licked my lips and was about to tell him anyway, tell him everything, when a whining noise pierced through the expectant silence. Something electronic like an alarm.

I'm not sure what happened next. With that noise Sam turned back to his brother but before he could even make one step he stumbled to the side and barreled into Eric. Both went down in a heap of limps and curses which came out of their mouths in white little puffs. Eyes on the two figures on the floor I didn't notice the other person right in the middle of us at first.

"You don't belong here!" A voice screamed and now we all noticed her. We stared at her, trying to figure out if what we were seeing was real. Looking at Andrea's face opposite to mine I was pretty sure she was seeing the same as I did but that didn't make it easier to comprehend. However, the attention of our guest wasn't on us. She was focused on Dean.

"You don't belong here!" She screamed again and when she moved she didn't use her feet. She just flickered a step closer to the couch where Dean was nearly falling off said couch in the desperate attempt to get to the shotgun. She was over him before he got it.

"You are not part of this." She grabbed him by the collar and easily lifted him to her eye-level. He struggled in her grip but despite the fact that she was smaller than him and that her hands shouldn't have the strength to hold him, he couldn't break free. He clawed helplessly at her fingers tightening around his throat. Even when she let go with one hand she still hold him up with ease. His back was pressed against the back of the couch so that the front feet of it lost contact with the floor and Dean's feet were uselessly searching for some purchase.

"You shouldn't have come." She said in a low voice and with a blink of an eye the machete was no longer on the table. Already stained with Dean's blood she raised it in the clear attempt to kill Dean. "You shouldn't have tried to save them. They don't deserve to live. They'll suffer. Nobody leaves."

I know I should have done something, anything. But I just stood there and stared. My mind couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing and I think it was the same with the others. We all stood with our mouths literally hanging open and stared at the horror in front of us. All but Sam.

"Dean!" He yelled and then things happened at the same time. With his brother shouting his name Dean stopped fighting and went limp. It didn't break her grip around his throat but he dragged her down with him so that she was now standing over him. The shot right next to me nearly deafened me and I wasn't the only one screaming in fear and surprise. Above our screams there was a piercing shriek and with one last flicker she was gone. The machete clattered to the floor and Dean gasped for air.

"Think we found our Casper, Sammy." Dean even managed a grin at his brother who was still on the floor. Laying on his front, propped up on his elbows he had the right angle to fire the shotgun without hitting his brother. My mind analyzed Sam's position while I still struggled to figure out what the hell had just happened.

"That was …" Brenda began but broke up with a questioning look around. We all had recognized her but the impossibility of the situation still stunned us.

"Yeah." Sam picked himself up but didn't seem as freaked out as we others. He crouched in front of Dean. "Let me see."

Shotgun still in his hand he examined his brother's throat. "Good to see you being strangled for a change." He smirked but seemed satisfied with what he saw. Dean batted his hand away.

"You can't always have all the fun." He rubbed the abused skin on his throat and swallowed experimentally. "You know our dead chick?"

Sam nodded but before he could explain farther Andrea had found her voice again.

"What the hell just happened here?" She asked in an alarming high voice, her breath coming harsh and quick, close to hyperventilating. "Sam?"

"Yeah, man. What the shit?" Eric looked around as if he expected for her to come back. Whatever and wherever she was now.

"She's gone for the moment." Sam reassured us but hold tight to the shotgun in his hand. It should look wrong, Sam with a gun, but it looked more like it was a natural part of him. He held the gun with years of experience and when he bent down the get the other shotgun which he handed to his brother it just completed the picture.

Still breathless Dean sat on the couch, injured leg stretched out and gun in his hand and Sam stood protectively in front of him as if he dared us or her to come near his brother ever again.

Coming out of our stupor we talked all at once, comparing what we saw and asking for answers but basically we just wanted someone, Sam or Dean, to tell us what the fuck just happened.

All but Cole. In silence he stood aside and seemed more in shock than we others.

When Sam raised his gun-free hand to silence us, his expression was cold and dangerous. I've to admit I breathed in relief when that gaze didn't settle on me. Instead Sam turned toward Cole and pinned him down with that murderous look of his.

"Cole." He said in a voice I'd never expected coming out of Sam's mouth. "Please, tell me you didn't dump her in the lake."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N** This story is all written (23 chapters) and so is the one I want to start posting after this one is finished. So why not speeding things up a little bit?

Updates on Mondays and Saturdays for the rest of this story. Have fun.

* * *

"What are you implying, Sam?" Still pale Cole hid behind the professional mask of the politician he would be some day. Giving away nothing, confirming nothing with the underlying threat of suing his opponent for looking at him wrong. But Sam wasn't someone who would back off confronted with that attitude.

Of course I knew exactly what Sam was implying. I didn't know what had happened the last few minutes but I wasn't stupid and neither were the others. In their faces I read the same thoughts I had. Only Dean looked confused but he let his brother handle this. Both of them still had the shotguns in hand, though.

"That was Anne." Now Sam stood right in front of Cole. "Your girlfriend who vanished after you two broke up. Who is now haunting your cabin. You tell me what I'm implying, Cole."

"You can't proof anything." Cole stepped away from Sam and looking around searched for back-up from us.

"Is it true?" Andrea asked and she didn't have to say aloud what she meant. There was no need for that. I only wondered why I hadn't made that connection sooner. Cole had told us that Anne was on her way to her parents when she disappeared and we never questioned that. We had speculated about her gotten killed by a homicidal hitchhiker or her running off to start a new life on Maui or something. We never doubted Cole when he said Anne had left. Looked like she never did.

"Dude, just tell us where the body is." Dean entered the conversation. Apparently he had no trouble picturing Cole murdering his girlfriend. But he wasn't our friend, not part of our little Fellowship. For him it was easy.

"Is it true!" Andrea hit Cole with both hands in the chest hard enough for him to stumble backwards. "Did you kill her? Did you kill Anne?"

"It was an accident." Cole stepped back, away from Sam and Andrea and the rest of us.

"Let me guess." Dean tightened his grip around the gun. "She fell down the stairs?" He didn't make the air quotes but they were there.

Before Cole could answer that there was the whining alarm again and the brothers snapped to attention. This time they were ready for Anne. She only had time to appear in the middle of the room before she was blasted away by simultaneous shots from both shotguns.

"You can shoot a ghost?" Eric looked around wildly as if he expected to see Anne right behind him. Which probably was quite a possibility. I didn't know and a small part of my mind still hold on to the thought that this was all just some kind of trick. Maybe Dean was screwing with us somehow. Or I was just going crazy. Everything was better than the thought of Cole murdering Anne and that she was haunting us now.

"Rock salt." Dean answered Eric's question but his attention was on Sam. I got the feeling I missed a whole conversation because after a second or two Sam nodded, shoved Cole out of the way and headed for the front door.

"Sam, where are you going?" Andrea grabbed his sleeve but he pried her fingers gently away.

"I saw bags of salt in the shed." He said as if that made any sense at all. "First of all we need to get you safe." And with that he went outside.

"Safe?" Eric yelled after him but Sam was gone. So he turned to Dean. "How can salt keep us safe?"

"You saw it." After reloading his gun Dean snapped it shut with a grin on his face. "Ghosts don't like salt."

"It was Anne, right?" Brenda sat down next to Dean on the couch and that probably was the safest place right now. "She pushed Vincent down the stairs. And you."

"We think so." Dean admitted and smiled at her. "Don't worry, you're safe now."

"You are injured and Vincent is dead." Cole had the nerve to say. "That doesn't look safe to me."

"Where is the body?" Dean asked again but was interrupted by Sam coming back. He gave one bag of salt to Eric and ripped open another one.

"We need a circle." Sam instructed and started to pour out the salt. Following his lead Eric went in the other direction and soon we all set in a wide circle of salt.

"Why, Cole?" We had settled down on the couch and chairs and Brenda asked the question that was running wild in my mind. I somewhat had accepted that Anne was a ghost now and that she wanted to hurt us but the why was the question that bothered me. What it looked liked I wasn't the only one.

"It was an accident." Cole repeated. He sat apart from us, as far way from us as the circle allowed. What that circle was supposed to do I had no idea but I was willing to play along. So far Sam and Dean seemed to know what they were talking about.

"She wouldn't haunt your ass if it had been an accident." Dean pointed out as if that was a well known fact. "She's pissed. I get that she's been dead for just over a year?" He looked at Sam who confirmed that with a nod. "To be that powerful in that amount of time, she has to be really pissed." Dean clicked his tongue. "Tell us what happened and we can stop this."

Cole visibly struggled but then he started to talk. "She was pregnant, okay?"

That was unexpected.

"And you didn't want a kid." Sam said with a sigh.

"It was too soon." Cole looked around as if he expected us to understand what he was saying. I didn't. "I told her that we should wait until we had pushed our careers farther. That we would have children but not now. It would have ruined everything."

"But she wanted to keep the child." Andrea filled in the blank. "And what? You just killed her so she wouldn't slow down your career?"

"We had a fight." Cole admitted. "I couldn't reason with her. And then ..." He broke up and looked at his hands.

"Cole, where is Anne now?" Sam came back to the old question. Why was he so keen on finding the body? I for sure didn't want to find a year old corpse. That was something the police could take care of.

But now Cole's face went hard. "You know what? Screw you. You can't proof anything. I'm going to tell the police that I saw Dean pushing Vincent down the stairs. If you want to go with the ghost story, go on. This will not get in my way!" With that he was on his feet. "This is ridiculous."

Before anybody could react he stepped out of the circle.

"Cole, wait." Sam tried to hold him back but by then Cole was halfway up the stairs.

"I'll wait in my room until the road is clear."

When Anne appeared this time nobody was ready for her, especially not Cole who nearly bumped into her. For a second they stared at each other, she on the top of the stairs and he just a step below. Without saying a word she raised her hands.

"No, please." Cole tried to reach for the banister but he never made it.


	20. Chapter 20

Cole screamed and then he was silent. Lying at the bottom of the stairs with his neck twisted in an unnatural way. Shotgun in hand Sam jumped forward but it was way too late.

"You are going to pay." Anne snarled at us and then vanished before Sam could aim at her.

"Is he …?" Andrea stood just barely inside the salt circle craning her neck to get a better look at Cole but Sam was blocking the view. He bent down and examined Cole for a second and when he stood up and shook his head nobody was surprised. Sam hurried to get back in the circle.

I still had no idea how a simple line of salt, salt for crying out loud, should protect us but the way Sam relaxed the second he entered it told me that at least he thought it would do us some good.

Dean gestured for his brother to come closer but cramped up like this I heard every word he was telling him.

"We have to find that body. Now." Dean rummage around in the remains of the bag and came up with a device. It whined now and then along with flashing red lights but it was far from the alarming sound it had made earlier.

"What's that?" Eric let out a nervous laugh. "Some kind of ghost detector?"

Eric was joking but the look on Dean's face when he answered was serious. "You could say that."

Moving it around in a half-circle it spiked a little but never up to the level it had when Anne had appeared. At least that was what I put together about the situation myself. Not that Sam or Dean bothered to explain things to us.

"What are we going to do with Cole?" Andrea asked, eyes fixed on the motionless body on the floor only a few feet away from us. To be honest, I wasn't fond of the idea of having a dead person lying so close. Even if said person kinda deserved what had happened to him. But still, Cole had been our friend for years. It was hard to forget that. On the other hand, so had Anne.

Sharing one of those looks the brothers nodded like one and then Sam turned to me.

"Luis, help me." He said and I didn't like it one bit. "We'll put Cole in the shed. Then I'll get the second meter and have a look around outside." The last part was directed at his brother but I was still struggling with the thought of actually moving Cole.

Like Vincent before we wrapped Cole in a blanket, Sam was way too cool with that, while Dean stood guard with his shotgun. Sam had only halfheartedly protested when Dean had insisted to get up. I thought he knew it was a lost case to convince Dean to stay put on the couch so Sam settled for getting the job done as quickly as possible.

"Luis, get his feet." Sam ordered and propped up Cole's upper body. He laid his shotgun on Cole's chest and I tried to not think too much about it. It helped to pretend that Cole was just drunk or something.

Dean held the door open for us and murmured a "Be careful" at Sam when we passed him with our morbid burden.

Staggering through the snow I was more busy holding my balance and blinking against the wind than to think about what I was doing. I breathed in relief when we entered the shed, though.

"We put him over there." Sam nodded in the direction. _Over there_ was right next to Vincent's body. We had started to stack bodies like the firewood stored in here. I let out a shallow laugh.

"Luis." Sam's big hand landed on my shoulder. "Everything will be alright."

"We're stuck in a goddamn horror movie." I remembered my conversation with Eric a million years ago. Andrea wasn't the ax waggling murderer but Anne was, kind of, and with Sam Eric hadn't been that far off either.

"I've some experience with situations like this." Sam admitted with an almost sheepish smile. "Everything's going to be fine. You're safe now."

I doubted that but I took the crowbar and other tools he said we'd probably need. Then I followed him to the car.

"That's why you've all those weapons?" I asked and didn't refer to just the one shotgun in his hand. He followed my line of sight to the trunk and nodded knowingly.

"We're here to help." He opened the hidden compartment and dug around the weapons as if it was daily business. It probably was, I had no idea who this guy was anymore.

Sam came up with more shotgun shells and a device similar to the one Dean was using. He flipped it on.

"Stay close."

"You think she's coming for us?" I looked around but Anne was nowhere to be seen.

"We think Cole hid her somewhere in the cabin." Sam led the way to the shore but the device stayed silent. He chuckled. "Dean wouldn't let me go out here alone if he thinks it's dangerous."

Those information must have been part of their silent conversation. And obviously I didn't count as backup for Sam.

"Doesn't look like he's dumped her in the lake after all." Satisfied Sam turned back to the cabin.

"They had this big makeover last year." I gestured at the building. "Maybe Cole …" I couldn't say it but Sam understood.

"That's what we think." Sam stomped his feet to get rid of the snow. I did the same just to gain some time. I didn't want to go back inside.

"It's weird, you know?" I brushed snow from my shoulder. "You think you know someone and turns out he has murdered his girlfriend."

Sam didn't say anything for a moment.

"We are still talking about Cole here, right?" He finally asked in a tired voice.

"What happened to Jess?" I looked him in the eye, demanding an answer. Since I overheard the conversation between Sam and Dean that question was burning in my mind. I had to ask.

"I didn't kill her, if that's what you're asking." He didn't sound angry.

"But you're looking for her killer."

Taken aback he stared at me.

"I heard you and Dean earlier." I reminded him. My feet were really interesting by then but I forced myself to look him in the eye.

"It was an accident, the fire. Keep it that way." Emotions flashed over his face and I didn't dare to ask farther. Sam reached for the door when a shot went off inside.


	21. Chapter 21

I stormed in right after Sam but unlike him I stopped dead when I saw what was happening inside the cabin.

Anne was back and somehow I had adjusted to the thought of her being a ghost haunting us. What I wasn't prepared for was a chair sliding over the floor and cutting through the thick line of salt. The second that line was broken Anne was inside. Dean fired at the ghost but she flickered away and appeared in front of Andrea who was staring at her with big eyes.

"Anne, please." Andrea backed off but Anne followed her and reached for her throat.

"Get away from her, bitch." Dean snarled and threw a hand full of salt at her. With that Anne was gone. For the moment.

"Everybody alright?" Sam asked and knelt down to repair the circle while Dean reloaded his gun. They weren't quick enough.

"You don't belong here!" This time it wasn't a chair that moved on its own. This time it was Dean. Anne waved her hand and Dean was airborne. He grunted when his feet lost contact with the floor but curled in to himself to prevent farther damage when his back connected with the rack of DVDs. It looked practiced.

"Dean!" Another blast from a shotgun and Anne was gone once again and Sam was at his brother's side in a heartbeat but over his shoulder he yelled: "Eric, Brenda. Fix that salt."

After a second they hurried to do as they were told while Andrea and I just stood there holding our breath.

"Is he okay?" Andrea finally asked but by that time Sam had his brother in a sitting position and seemed satisfied with what he saw so I hoped Dean wasn't in immediate danger of dying right now. He would feel sore for at least a week and I didn't even want to think about the bruises he would sport tomorrow.

I stopped mid-thought. Dean would pretty much look like Sam tomorrow. Battered with black bruises and a cut in his leg he could easily be mistaken for a victim of abuse.

_I've experience with this kind of situation_, Sam had said earlier but only now I realized what he'd meant. I wasn't sure what _this_ was but it was obvious that this was his life. Or at least a big part of his life which he'd never let us see.

"I get that your friends don't like me, Sammy." Dean muttered and rested his head with closed eyes at the wall. "But this is extreme."

We all froze at that observation because he was right. I hadn't liked Dean from the beginning, hell I hadn't liked him even before we'd met. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Brenda and Eric finishing their work and they did a pretty good job at pretending they hadn't heard Dean's words. Andrea and I shared a quick glance before we looked elsewhere.

What made it worse was that Sam for one let his brother call him Sammy, I'd never get used to that, and that he chuckled at those words.

"It's your charm, man." Sam grinned but sobered when he realized they weren't alone. "Nothing outside. You found anything in here?"

Dean let his brother pull him up to his feet and took his shotgun back.

"Meter went wild over there." He nodded towards the stairs. "Best guess? She's under the floorboards."

Sam followed his brother's line of sight. "That's why she went after Vincent first and is now after Andrea." He looked like he felt stupid for not making the connection sooner. Whatever that connection was.

"Me?" Andrea whispered, eyes fixed on that spot as if she could see Anne under the floor. If she really was there but Sam seemed confident. When he turned to Andrea his face softened.

"You were dancing on her grave. Literally." He paused. "Dean, that's why she's so strong after such a short time. Her friends having fun right over her body, with her murderer no less, of course she's pissed."

"We didn't know." Andrea whispered with brimming eyes. "Anne, please. We didn't know." The last part was directed at empty space and if Anne heard her she didn't let us know.

Eric and Brenda had fixed the circle and now we were standing once again inside and had no idea what to do next. My experience with ghosts was limited to horror movies but there was one basic theme in all of them.

"We can apologize to her." I suggested. "We'll go to the police and tell them what Cole did. She'll get a real funeral and her parents will finally know. That's what she wants, right? Justice. Coming home."

Dean shook his head in a pitiful manner. "Sorry, man. In most cases it doesn't work like that. She wants you dead, all of you. And me for crashing her party." He turned towards Sam. "C'mon, Sammy. Time to finish this."

Sam didn't look happy about that but he didn't object.

"What are you going to do about her?" Brenda shifted from one foot to the other eyes rooming around but for now Anne left us alone.

Sam and Dean shared one of those looks and Dean shrugged as if he wanted to say "They're your friends."

"First we have to find her body." Sam said and swallowed thickly. Whatever would come next wasn't pretty, I saw that on his face. "Then we have to dose her with salt and burn her."

He chewed his bottom lip and blinked a few times. Anne had been his friend, too.

"Burn her?" I parroted. We couldn't burn her, not in here, not ever. And especially not somebody we knew. That was just wrong.

"There is no other way." Dean spoke up a close eye on his brother as if he wanted to make sure that Sam was okay with the situation.

"What …" Eric begun but stopped to clear his throat. "What will she look like?"

That brought Sam back from his thoughts. "She's dead for a year now. Dry environment. A bit like a mummy, more juicy if Cole wrapped her up in plastic."

"And you know that how?" Brenda asked but hold her hand up in a stop sign a second later. "I don't wanna know."

"Okay, ladies." Dean rubbed his hands. Nobody pointed out to him that he was swaying just a little bit but Sam kept a concerned eye on his brother. "Let's do this."


	22. Chapter 22

"We have to salt her remains and burn them." That was the shocking part I had to deal with. The rest was kinda anticlimactic. Injured as he was Dean was the one who stood guard with his gun and Andrea had taken over Sam's. Turned out she knew how to handle a shotgun. Who knew? Eric even managed a grin and mouthed: Told you.

I worked with Sam and Eric to remove the floorboards where we thought Cole had hidden Anne. With a canister of gas and one of the salt bags at her side Brenda waited with an iron poker in her hands for her cue. We wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

We worked in silence only interrupted by us grunting when we pried loose a stubborn board and the occasional shotgun blast when Anne appeared to stop us. Sam didn't even look up at the shots, completely trusting his brother to protect him. If I hadn't been busy ripping the floor apart I'd have laughed at that. You just needed to see them interact to see the trust and love between the brothers. I think they needed that because I doubt there are many people out there they could trust. Not with that weird reality they seemed to live in.

Finally we got the last board out of the way and could make out the bundle in the hole beneath. Wrapped in a blanket, figured. That seemed to be the official MO for dealing with dead persons.

"No!" One last time Anne threw herself at us but disappeared in a clutter of rock salt.

"Any time now, Sammy." Dean sounded urgent and by now he visibly kept his weight off his injured leg. Beads of sweat stood on his forehead and he blinked more often than he should.

"Yeah, yeah, always so bossy." Sam muttered but took a second to look at the body in the hole. There wasn't much to see with the blanket covering her and I was grateful for that. I wanted to keep her in my mind like she had been alive. I wanted to remember her smile and the way she rolled her eyes when I'd said something stupid.

"Sorry, Anne." Sam said with a sigh and a sad smile. "Brenda, the salt."

I don't know what I felt. I was kinda numb.

I thought about the girl who had been our friend and of what she'd become.

I thought about what Cole had done.

I thought about Sam and all the things I didn't know about him.

Brenda emptied the whole bag of salt over Anne's body and Sam dosed it with gas.

"Goodbye, Anne." Sam tossed a match and with a whoosh the bundle caught fire.

Then she was there. Anne stood there in the corner as far away from us as possible and looked at us, her face unreadable.

I wanted to say something, I don't know what, but before I could open my mouth she was gone in a burst of flames.

"Is it over?" Andrea asked and lowered the shotgun she'd aimed at Anne.

"It's over." Sam said and the way he watched the flames dying down it really was. Anne was gone. For good this time.

"The phones should work again." Dean limped over to the couch and set with his injured leg stretched out in front of him. Through his ripped jeans I caught a glimpse at the bandage. Fresh blood had turned it soaking red.

He needed a hospital, I realized. A real doctor to look at the cut in his leg and x-ray to check his rips and spine and skull and he most likely had a concussion.

"What are we going to tell them?" Brenda had her phone in hand but hesitated to dial.

In the end it was Sam who made the call and he didn't forget to mention the tree blocking the road. He didn't give any details other than that we had three bodies here.

While we waited for the plow and the police Sam and Dean briefed us on the story to tell.

Vincent had suspected that Cole had murdered Anne and in panic Cole had tried to get rid of the evidence by burning Anne's corpse. Vincent confronted Cole and they fought on the upper floor. In the end the went down the stairs together. Due to the weather we had no reception and had to store the bodies in the shed.

The story had more holes than I bothered to count but it was all we got. We couldn't tell the police about the ghost of our friend haunting us, couldn't we?

When the police finally arrived I wasn't sure if I felt relieved to get out of the cabin alive or frightened because I was about to lie to the police.

We backed each other up with our story and the officer taking my statement seemed to believe me. For now.

"Luis?" Sam came over and behind him I spotted Dean already in the car. Both, Dean and the car, looked beaten but I guess it took a lot more to take them down. "I'm taking Dean to the hospital. They can take our statements there." He looked at the nearest officer as if he dared him to tell him otherwise. The officer nodded after a second.

"Think he'll be alright?" I asked and looked past Sam at his brother who had rested his head at the window and had his eyes closed. He had to be in pain. Remembering all the bad things I'd said about Dean, what I'd thought about him, I wanted him to be alright. It hadn't been his fight but he was the one who had ended up injured. At least he was alive. They had carried out Vincent and Cole in black body-bags just a minute ago and they still had to figure out how to deal with Anne.

"He's fine." Sam smiled as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"You know, you're always welcome, right? Both of you." I made it as clear as possible that I meant Dean as well. It was the least I could do.

"Thanks, Luis." Sam said and it sounded like a _Thanks, but no thanks_ and I knew he'd never just swing by. But he insisted that I would call him if I ever needed any help. He didn't out right say it but he meant something like this, something like a ghost. For a second I wanted to ask what else was out there. Just ghosts, and that was frightening enough, or was there more? But I kept my mouth shut.

Sam said his goodbyes to me and the others and he repeated his offer to the others as well and then he drove off to bring his brother to the hospital.

They never showed up there. I wasn't surprised.

* * *

**A/N** We're almost there. The epilogue is coming up on Monday.


	23. Chapter 23

We used to be the _Fellowship of the Nine_. Cole and Anne, Sam and Jess, Brenda, Eric, Andrea, Vincent and me, Luis. I still didn't know if Sam came up with that name or Vincent. It didn't matter anymore because they both weren't part of our little Fellowship any longer. Vincent was dead and Sam? I didn't even know where to start with Sam.

That weekend had been just the continuation of what had started with the fire. First we'd lost Jess to the flames and a week later Sam had driven off with his brother.

Sam never really explained what had happened the night of the fire and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. After being haunted by the ghost of another member of our fellowship there were suddenly too many scary possibilities out there. Sam was looking for the one who killed Jess and I was satisfied with that.

After Jess and Sam we'd lost Anne. Back than we'd thought … I don't know what we thought but life went on and we didn't go looking for her. All I know is that that was the shittiest Christmas ever and our _Fellowship of the Nine_ was down to six people.

Vincent joked we'd picked the wrong movie and should better be prepared for something more along the lines of _Final Destination_. Maybe we should have listened to him.

We made it through the year without another loss, except if you want to count Sam who stopped answering any of our calls or emails. And I have to admit I didn't think of him for months. He was back on my mind around November, though. Just like Jess and a little later Anne, but all in all we made it through the year in one piece. Still six people, still good friends, maybe closer than before. Or so we thought.

With Sam joining us for the weekend we were seven again and unknown to us Anne was also there. Had been there since Cole had murdered her and hid her body under the floorboards like in a crappy horror movie. Vincent would have loved it if he had been still alive at the point we'd figured it out.

Anne killed Vincent and Cole and she would have murdered all of us if it hadn't been for Sam and his brother.

Now our fellowship is down to four people, Brenda, Eric, Andrea and me, Luis, but I doubt we'll call ourselves that any longer. Looking back I realize that Sam has never really been a part of our little fellowship. He tried, he tried really hard and for a long time he fooled us by pretending he was just an ordinary guy.

It sounds like the American Dream. A poor guy from a rough childhood goes to one of the best colleges in the US on a full ride and becomes a famous lawyer. I think it was Sam's dream but it was just that, a dream. Because that wasn't Sam. He wanted to be like that, pretended to be like that but that didn't make it true.

I don't know who the real Sam Winchester is. The real Sam Winchester can handle a gun and knows how to deal with ghosts. The real Sam Winchester has seen death often enough to not think twice about it if he has to pick up a body. The real Sam Winchester is in his early twenties and has more battle scars than most veterans. The real Sam Winchester lives in a world I know nothing about.

What I do know is that at least he is not alone. He has his brother at his side. Dean. Who isn't as bad as I've first thought and I wouldn't mind to get to know him better but I doubt I'll ever get the chance.

The police bought our story and we went home. I haven't heard from Sam since and I don't think I ever will but it's good to know that they are out there, doing what they do. Together.

***end***

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**A/N** That's all, folks. Thanks to all of you who enjoyed the ride with me, you're awesome.

On Saturday I'm going to start a new story, something completely different. Have a look if you like:

**The Love of an Angel**

Summary: Tag to 8x22, the Nephilim didn't come out of nowhere. A love story around pistachio ice cream, elephants and the love of his life. Gabriel/OFC, nothing explicit but we have to get a baby out of this somehow, pre-series.


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